


Casting a spell on this fate,  you suddenly appeared.

by FaithCaelum



Category: The Owl House (Cartoon)
Genre: Actually she sucks at magic, Aged-Up Character(s), Amity ends up summoning a human as her familiar, Amity isn't the perfect witch here, But I needed them both to have 18years for plot sake, F/F, Familiar summoning, Just the "legendary" witch/familiar thingy, Loosely inspired by Zero No Tsukaima but not the same plot, Magic School, No Smut, Slow Burn, Strangers to Lovers, Witches have familiars, surprise it's Luz
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-10
Updated: 2021-01-18
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:54:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 53,583
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26939227
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FaithCaelum/pseuds/FaithCaelum
Summary: Amity had tried for years to be the perfect witch, the perfect daughter, the perfect Blight. She was one of the greatest students of Hexside… at least, when it came to her knowledge on magic. Despite her best efforts, she never was able to perform magic correctly. Being the shame of the Blight family.That’s why, when the Familiar Summoning Day came, she knew she couldn’t fail. She had to invoke the best familiar possible, they will be linked for life after all. Her future companion had to be the proof of her hard work and dedication to restore her honor ! It had to be divine, beautiful and powerful!A human wasn’t really what she was hoping for. But here she was… stuck with this strange girl as her familiar.
Relationships: Amity Blight/Luz Noceda
Comments: 243
Kudos: 612





	1. It begins with the first kiss. The story of us two.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! 
> 
> I happy to share with you my first TOH fanfic ! It will be a fic with multiple chapters. But I don't have any update program for now. I'm kind of a slow writer since I'm a french fry and writing in english can be difficult for me sometimes. But I'll do my best to keep up ! :) So I hope you'll enjoy the story ! ^^ 
> 
> You can thanks JuliaCorvia and Ambenya for beta-reading this fic ! They're a huge help and they have the courage to put up with my broken english ahah !  
> And thanks to my GF, Harikaw, who have to put up with me talking about this fic all the time, and helping me when I have a lack of ideas for the plot ! <3
> 
> Also, this fic is inspired by an anime : Zero no Tsukaima (Familiar of Zero). I basically take from it the "Witch invoking a human familiar" thing, and some events. But it won't follow the same plot at all. And it WON'T have the same themes (tsundere heroine/harem/ecchi and master/pet-slave thing). I only aged-up the characters for the plot and because I feel more at ease writing about older characters, nothing more than kisses and maybe make-out, will happen. Thanks to respect this. Thank you ! 
> 
> On this, I really hope you will enjoy this fic and will have a great time reading it ! :)  
> Don't hesitate to leave kudos and comments, it really helps to motivate me ! Thank you <3
> 
> Cover art for chapter 1 commissioned, by @Treker402 on Twitter!   
> Bottom art for chapter 1 by me

As always, it ended with an explosion and a strong feeling of shame constricting her throat. Each time she tried to draw a magic circle in the air, everyone in the class knew that it was a sign of bad omen. It was already hard to concentrate and let the magic flow correctly to cast her spell, but seeing all her classmates starting to hide themselves behind their desks didn’t help.

This new professor didn’t know what she was doing when she asked Amity to demonstrate to the whole class how to summon an abomination and refused to listen when every student paying attention to the lesson warned her. After all, the student she chose had the best results in the latest written test, a proud “100%” written in red just beside the name “Amity Blight” on the top of the sheet. What could go wrong? Well… It turned out that everything could go wrong.

Pressured by her professor, the young witch had to draw the circle above the cauldron full of fresh abomination goo, still bubbling. Of course, a big detonation resonated, knocking her and her professor back and covering both of them and the classroom in purple sticky liquid.

Red covered her cheeks and she lowered her ears in shame and anger when she heard some of the other witches laugh at her. She glared darkly at them, her lips curling to let her fangs appear, making them know that it wasn’t the right idea to piss her off right now.

How dare they! She was a Blight! She was a top A student, at least when it came to her knowledge on magic, but she always was a disaster during practice, despite her best efforts. She lost count of how many hours she spent trying to achieve even the simplest spell without it ending with a loud “BANG”. It had been years, countless tries, and many fits of rage with no results. And even after six years of studying at Hexside, the most prestigious magic school on the Boiling Isle, she wasn’t able to do better than a 12 years old witchling freshly enrolled.

She was the shame of her family, even her parents had given up trying to understand why she wasn’t able to perform magic correctly. They thought that maybe her magic bile sack wasn’t working correctly. It turned out that not only was it the perfect shape, worse, it was bigger than normal, allowing her to accumulate more magic than the regular witch. Which should make her powerful for her age. Then they started to think that she was lying to them, hiding her true potential, but when they saw how hard she tried to overcome her handicap, they understood that they would make fools of themselves to continue to think like this. Then, they found one of the most powerful witches of the Boiling Isle, Lilith, and she became her mentor, still, no progress was made to this day.

It was a real humiliation for her, not able to be a real witch, not able to wear with honor her family name, not able to make her parents proud. It was just… sad. But she was fierce and cocky, with an ego a tad too much for some peoples liking. And despite all the mockery, the snickering when she tried to do a spell, and this ridiculous nick-name of “half-a-witch”, she held her head high and kept giving the best of herself, acing all her tests, proving to everyone that despite her lack of magical talent, her knowledge on the subject was unequalled. And once she could figure out how to overcome this bump in the road, _she would beat their sorry ass_. Well, let’s say it wasn’t today that her grand scheme would come to reality.

Right now, she was butt on the floor, like a lost duckling, abomination goo all over the face and uniform, the professor looking at her with disbelief, and in the same poor state as her.

“Told you so Miss. Half-a-witch can’t do a spell even if her life depended on it. It’s a lost cause. Don’t bother with her.” Quipped a three-eyed girl in the back of the class, her feet propped up on her desk in front of her, her voice haughty and a long grin on her face, looking right at the green haired witch with a certain disdain.

“Boscha…” Growled back Amity, her golden eyes locking themselves on the pink haired girl, a cold anger inhabiting them. Clearly challenging her to continue. She wouldn’t hesitate twice to blast both of them with one of her explosions if the cuegle wanted to fight. The sole thing preventing her from doing it right now was only to keep her “kind of” perfect student facade in front of their teacher.

“Enough girls, I don’t want this kind of thing in this class!” Suddenly called out the abomination professor, back on her two feet. A disapproving scowl embed on her face, still covered by the nasty purple gunk. “The class is dismissed, Principal Bump has some news to announce soon anyways.” She said sternly before using a simple magic circle to clean herself and the room, while every student started to leave without further ado.

Quickly taking her bag, Amity didn’t need to be asked twice to leave the classroom. Going straight to the nearest bathroom, in hope to be able to clean herself up a bit before the principal's “grand announcement”. Looking at herself in the big mirror in front of her, a heavy sight left her lips and her shoulders slouched a bit. She looked ridiculous, abomination goo sticking in her hair, the purple liquid having dried on her forehead and chin, she even had some in her nose. Which was kind of disgusting, but it wasn’t the first time that it happened.

Cleaning herself as neatly as she could, she already regretted not being able to do the same as the teacher and do all of this with a simple magic trick. But she knew that throwing her own pity-party wouldn’t help at all. So she quickly straightened her posture, raised her chin as her golden eyes went back to the usual cold glare she sported. And at the same moment, the voice of the principal resonated in the whole school, prompting her to go out the bathroom, a quizzed look on her face.

“Greetings Hexside! It’s your principle here! Some of you may have heard of it, others may have waited for it for many years now. Yes! Today is a special day for all our sixth-year students! I need all of you to join us in the outside court as soon as possible for the Familiar Summoning ceremony! Of course, your other classes for the afternoon are cancelled. May most of you enjoy this special day!” Announced the voice, maybe with a bit too much joy. But the loud cheering that could be heard in the hallways proved that many of the students were in the same state of mind.

Every witch knew how important the familiar summoning tradition was. And a lot of young witches were pretty impatient to meet their future companion.

Amity wasn’t looking forward to it. Clenching her teeth, she suddenly tensed up. She wasn’t ready at all. She knew this day would be coming, of course, she wasn’t dumb, but the school year just started a few days ago. The familiar summoning day was usually after the first semester at least. But she couldn’t help it. She had to do it, she had no other choices after all.

She just hoped, deep inside, that the summoning spell would work. That it wouldn’t end in another explosion, revealing no familiar. Making her a partnerless witch, forcing her to be alone in her misery for her entire life. And how would she announce to her family that she wasn’t able to summon her companion? She already had difficulties proving herself worthy to be a Blight, hell, to be a normal witch. So, if she failed this… she was afraid of the outcome. She had to succeed, she had no other choice!

Trying to motivate herself, she walked with a determined pace to the court, before stopping dead In her tracks when she heard a familiar snicker just behind her.

“So, you really have the guts to show up to the summoning? Aren’t you afraid to show the whole school that your familiar will be as pathetic as you?” Scoffed the cuegle that plagued her days and made her life a living hell.

“I’m a Blight, my familiar will be exceptional. Way better than yours Boscha.” Automatically grumbled Amity, rolling her eyes at the pink haired witch’s poor attempt to upset her. She refused to show any weakness, any doubts, especially to Boscha.

But it only made the other witch laugh as if she said the most hilarious joke of the week. A hand touched her shoulder, trying to belittle her. A hand she quickly snapped away which made the cuegle look at her, offended. But she had no remorse, she hated when people invaded her personal space that way.

“If it makes you sleep better at night, believe what you want. We’ll see soon enough anyways half-a-witch.” Snapped back Boscha, not impressed at all by the Blight’s confidence before brushing her off, making her way to the outside court, soon followed by her usual minions, Skara, Amelia and Cat. All of them looking at the green haired witch with shit eating grins.

Fuming, Amity soon followed, stomping her way to the meeting place. She will show them. Her familiar was going to be the best of them all! She knew it. She believed it. Something in her bile sack was bubbling, and once in her life, she felt like she was ready to do magic.

Well, her confidence totally deflated when she saw the court filled with all the sixth years of the school, in a circle around the principal and the head teacher. She was going to embarrass herself in front of everyone wasn’t she? Anxiousness gripping at her throat when she heard everyone around her talk animatedly.

“Alright kids, enough chattering. I know that all of you are excited for this event. But I have some blabla to go through before we start.” Announced the head teacher, clapping her hands to draw the attention to her. Some of the young witchlings were already booing her, way too impatient. But it only made their professor laugh. “Yeah I know it’s pretty lame, but if you want to blame someone here, it’s Bump.” She retorted with a long smile, showing her golden fang, pointing the principle with a long-nailed thumb.

“Have some decency Edalyn, it’s an important tradition, the first step in a witch's life.” Responded the old witch, trying to stay serious, despite the lack of professionalism from his head teacher. “I still wonder why I gave you this job, I regret it everyday…” He grumbled quietly, crossing his arms with a long sigh, earning a loud laugh from the silver haired teacher who just gave him a friendly tap on his back.

“Okay, okay. Let’s begin! So… I guess that everyone there already knows what a familiar is.” A long pause. A few heads nodding in the crowd. “Please, tell me yes, otherwise I’ll have the feeling that I failed you as a teacher.” She quickly added with a long grin, knowing perfectly well that no witches here were that ignorant. “Well, let me refresh your memory quickly!” She added before using two of her fingers to whistle, loud enough to make some sensitive ears ring. And at the same moment, a small owl came flying, landing directly on her shoulder as she scratched his head affectionately. “This, is Owlbert, we met each other years ago, when I did my own Familiar Summoning, in this same school.” She smiled softly at the little owl who chirped happily at her. “It’s maybe one of the only good things this school gave me, but still.” She quietly added with a shadow of a provocative smile on her lips, but it quickly faded away when Bump coughed, trying to keep her on track.

“This day is one of the most important in a witch's life, it’s when you’ll meet your long-lasting life partner. You, and whatever creature you will invoke will be linked until death set you both apart. A familiar will always stick by your side, supporting you, helping you, they will store a bit of your magic inside of them and help you amplify it when you need it the most. And your role is to protect them and take great care of them. Yes I know, it’s cliché and cheesy as hell. But believe me, a familiar is the greatest thing that could happen to you. So don’t take this summoning lightly.” She finished explaining, perfectly knowing that half of the students stopped listening a while ago. But she couldn’t blame them, she has done the same thing as them when she was at their place.

“Well… I guess it’s good enough. I’ll call your name and you will step in the summoning circle, one by one, to call for your familiar. And once you mark them with your rune, you will step out and let your place to the next student.” Hastily explained the principle, raising his right hand, letting a huge pink circle shine in the grass.

“And remember kids, no “second chances” or “switching familiar”. We get that every year and it’s tiring, so have some respect for your future partner.” Suddenly added the head teacher, her face clearly showing that she wouldn’t buy this kind of shit for another year.

And way too soon for Amity liking, they started calling the names of all the students present. Skara was one of the firsts to go and did a perfect spell for her summoning. A small flying creature appearing. It looked like a hummingbird with butterfly wings, which, if she was being honest, she forgot the name due to nervousness. But the witchling seemed really pleased, her lips sealing themselves on the small creature's head, making it glow for a second, before she stepped outside the circle, letting her place for someone else.

A lot of amazing creatures slowly invaded the space of the court, but one of the greatest surprises was when Willow, one of the greatest witches specialized in plant magic in their class, invoked a dragon. A huge deep green scaled female dragon, her long horns extending toward the sky, looking like huge roots intertwined together. The shy witch was as blown away as everyone else, especially when the monster kneeled in front of her to receive the kiss which would mark her as a familiar. Amity couldn’t believe it, and she wished she was in Willow’s place at this moment. The young witch, as her, has been mocked for several years for her lack of talent in magic, at least, until she found her path in life in plant magic not so long ago. And now she was jabbing at all her other classmates who mocked her by having one of the most powerful familiar possible.

And when it was Boscha's turn to summon her familiar, the Blight nearly wished she would invoke her familiar before her. Because when the pink haired teen made a huge, red salamander appear, the creature already spitting fire, she doubted she would do better. And Boscha knew this, sending a huge grin at her, head held high, while she walked off with her partner.

However, Amity didn’t even have the time to take the bait that her blood went cold when she heard her name being called. And everyone stopped chattering or laughing, or even trying to find names for their new familiar. Curious eyes went into her direction, some of her classmates already stepping off a few feet away from the summoning circle, knowing perfectly that it would end up in an explosion. Again. It wasn’t spoken, but there was a common thought in the crowd. Everyone presents wondered what kind of familiar the “worst witch” of the school would invoke.

She hoped that her hesitation and her fear wasn’t showing, trying to make each step she took toward the circle confident. But she saw the encouraging smile that the head teacher sent her way and her guts clenched.

She was in the middle of the circle, trying to concentrate on her breathing, but the few seconds she took to compose herself felt like eternity with all the eyes glued on her. “You can do it” she repeated several times under her breath as if to convince herself. Then, with a swift motion, she raised her hand high in the air, her finger pointing toward the sky and she started to draw a pink sparkling spell circle, words leaving her mouth nearly instinctively.

“My servant that exists somewhere in this universe! My divine, beautiful and powerful familiar. I wish and assert from the bottom of my heart… Answer my guidance !” She declared, her words loud and clear, filled with a conviction she didn’t know she had in her at this instant.

Still, just when she finished to draw the circle at her final word, her heart missed a beat. A powerful explosion made her fall on the ground outside the circle, dark smoke filling the area and making her cough loudly while her ears ringed due to the blast. She forced herself to open her eyes, fixing the area where the summoning circle was, but her eyes started to water. She failed, of course she failed, she always failed. Why would it work this time? She just wanted to leave and hide herself far away and never think about this day again.

And yet, she saw something move through the smoke, and a loud groan made everyone go silent. Nervousness started to overpower the shame and sadness, making it all disappear in an instant. Hope filled her chest when she went back on her two feet and started to walk toward the circle once again. It’s at this moment that the smoke started to fade away and she could decipher the silhouette of her future partner.

Something… or rather someone, was laying on the ground, and Amity’s eyes went wide when she looked at what was there, at her familiar place. Scanning every detail, she presumed that it was a girl laying there, someone she never saw before. Short brown hair, caramel skin, chocolate eyes that she had difficulties to keep open, button nose… and… round ears.

“A HUMAN?!” She screamed, startling everyone, while she was there, glaring at the poor human still unconscious on the ground.

“H-How…? Can a human be a familiar?!” She looked right at her professors, panicked, nearly pleading them to respond “no”. She couldn’t have a human as a familiar! It was neither divine, beautiful nor powerful. Nothing she was waiting for in a familiar. Yet, Eda just shrugged, clearly unfazed by the events.

“I never heard about something like this. But the summoning spell never makes mistakes. This human is your familiar now, Amity.” Declared the older witch, a hand on her hips. Even if her eyes scanned the human too, trying to understand how something like this could have happened. It sure was surprising, but she wasn’t taken aback, it seemed to fit that a… particular witch had a particular familiar.

Pressing tightly her lips together, Amity looked at the human again. She wasn’t going to beg to do the summoning spell again. She was above that. And she wasn’t certain that it would work anyways. But, having… This, as a familiar was way more embarrassing than having no familiar at all. Looking harshly at the girl still a bit stunned by the explosion, she couldn’t help herself but to analyze her. She was wearing strange clothes, nothing that looked like the usual Boiling Isle fashion. No cloak or dress, and it was far from the fancy clothes that a noble would wear. It looked like an old white and blue cotton shirt that a commoner owned, and her pants were way too short to be really practical, even if she had some tights to cover her legs and give her decency. This girl wasn’t clearly from there, and nothing on her showed that she was from some noble rank. She looked like a squire at best. How does a Blight was destined to have a… nobody, as a familiar seriously?

And of course, everybody was there to see this humiliation. Especially Boscha, the cuegle stepping in a long smirk appearing on her face. It was her time to shine!

“So much for someone who bragged like you did.” She laughed maliciously, pointing at the human while she restrained a giggle. “To think that the “great Amity Blight” summoned up a peasant! What a surprise!” She added, not able to hold back her laugh anymore, some other of their classmates following her.

Growling badly, the green haired witch’s face became totally red due to the anger and the embarrassment that took over her. Clenching her fist, her joints becoming white, she tried to contain herself, even with the rage boiling under her skin. Thankfully, it was soon forgotten when she saw the girl move in the corner of her eye.

The human was sitting up on the ground, looking around, completely lost. Seemingly trying to understand where she was and who were all those strange looking people around her. Big eyes scanning nearly erratically the environment around her.

“¿Qué? ¿Alguien puede decirme dónde estoy? ¿Por qué todos me miran así?” She said, panicked, in a language that Amity never heard before, but it seemed to be a ton of questions if she had any clues about the tone the human used. Which wasn’t a surprise since she just woke up in a strange new place. Still, Amity just looked at her sourly. It was amazing, this girl was some peasant, and she wasn’t even able to talk their language. Having her as a future familiar will be amazing, that was for sure.

“Miss Blight, can you please proceed to the next part of the ritual. Other students are waiting for their turn.” Called out the Principle, clearing up his throat to catch her attention.

The young witch just wanted to scream. She couldn’t believe that she was forced to put her mark on this girl, in front of everyone nonetheless. But she saw in the eyes of her principle that he wouldn’t allow any exceptions and that he was starting to get impatient. So she just sighed and took a step forward towards the brown haired girl, kneeling in front of her. While the human freaked out a bit and tried to put some distance between them.

Yet, the Blight was having none of that, she was already getting annoyed by all of this surreal and shameful situation, she refused to let all of this clownery go on for any longer. Taking a strong grip on this stupid cotton shirt, she started to move forward, pink coloring her cheeks. Now she thought about it, being this close to the human, she could tell that the girl was pretty cute despite the lack of pointed ears and the situation could have been… pleasant, if it was in total other circumstances. But she quickly slapped herself back to reality. Especially when she saw the girl starting to panic, doing huge hands movements, trying to make her move away.

“¿Qu-que quieres? ¡¿Por qué estás tan cerca de mí?! ¡Re-Retrocede por favor!“ The girl nearly screamed, clearly losing it, not understanding at all what was happening to her. Poor thing.

“Can you please calm down?!” Suddenly snapped Amity, grabbing both of the girl wrists to stop her frantic gestures. And it directly had the desired effect. Catching the girl's attention, she directly stopped whatever she was doing, just looking at the witch right in the eyes, mouth shut. Which made the Blight’s cheeks takes a bit more colors.

She had to do it, and they already put on too much of a show already. So even if her heart started to beat a bit more quickly, her face being way too close to the human one, she resolved herself. Letting go of the other girl's wrists, a hand went to her forehead, brushing off some wild locks and in a swift motion, she put her lips just between the two frowned brows. Feeling the magic flow between them like static energy, leaving the skin of her lips buzzing, even after she stepped off and got up.

Looking down at the human, the girl was gripping the grass tightly in her fists, eyes nearly bugging out, while a violent shade of red took over her cheeks. She stared at the green haired witch for a while, totally silent, even if Amity felt like the girl had a million questions burning her lips. And a few awkward seconds passed like this. Until a bright blue light made itself seen, glowing from the human left hand. And soon after, the human started to scream, grabbing her own hand and curling around it in pain, while the familiar runes started to engrave themselves in her skin. Marking and linking her forever, bound to the witch in front of her, even if she didn’t understand at all what it meant for now.

Seeing her now familiar, in such a pain, was kind of unpleasant to Amity. She felt her guts clench a bit, but she said nothing, waiting for it to finish, before letting her place to the next student. A tad impatient to finish all of this, starting to feel uneasy due to all the attention it attracted on her. And soon, the cries of pain stopped and she could breathe again. Well, until she saw the human fall limply on the ground, not responding at all, knocked out after suffering like this. Great. It was great.

She couldn’t believe that this useless human was becoming her familiar. It promised to be a real pain in the ass more than anything else. That was for sure. She wasn’t looking forward to the rest of the day… or to the rest of her life for all she could say.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cover art for chapter 1 commissioned, made by @Treker402 on Twitter!  
> Bottom art for chapter 1 by me
> 
> My social medias :
> 
> Tumblr : Faithcaelum_writing  
> Twitter : @Faithcaelum  
> Instagram : @Faithcael


	2. Is it fate or merely chance ?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Here's another chapter, I wrote it faster than I expected to be honest. It only been 1week already. I hope I can keep up this pace but I can't promise anything sorry... I still don't have a release schedule for future chapters, but at least most of them are planned out!
> 
> Anyways! I'm really happy to see how all of you welcomed my work, and I hope you'll like the next chapters as much you did with the first one! Thank you for all those comments, seriously, it's really motivating! 
> 
> Enjoy your reading all! And big thanks to JuliaCorvia and Ambenya for the beta-reading :)

When she saw the proud look in her mamá eyes, Luz couldn’t help but let a bittersweet feeling rise in her throat, constricting her chest.

Of course she was happy to finally move on from high school and all the horrible memories from it that still left a bad taste in her mouth. School life has never been… easy. Far from it actually. She was the average student, with the average GPA. A weirdo, a loner, way too engrossed in books and writing her own fantasy worlds. She had wild behaviors, functioned always at 100% percent, attracting problems since childhood. She had so many quirks and she was just overly awkward with everybody. Her classmates preferred to ignore her or laugh at her weird antics. Racist and homophobic slurs unfortunately became a daily occurance for her at some point. A few morons even bullied her from time to time, thinking she was an easy target, causing her to end up in too many fights for her liking. But now she had her diploma and those bad days were over!

University offered her another chance to start something new! It was awesome! She was lucky that winning some writing contest during the year had picked up the interest of the school, enough to offer her a small scholarship. So, she was ready to grab this new chance in life and enjoy it as much as she could. Making friends and going out, improving her writing style with all the writing classes she would take, and even maybe meeting some nice and cute classmate that would catch her interest and would accept her as she was!

But all of this had a cost. The university was kind of far away and it wasn’t like her mamá could quit her job and move with her in a brand-new city. So, she had to go without her, enjoying this new life without her. It wasn’t like she wouldn’t see her again. And the harsh reality was that they barely saw each other anyways, her mamá being a hard-working nurse with an insane schedule. The rare times they had together being dulled by the tiredness that came with being a nurse and a mountain of homework for Luz. But she loved her mamá and it pained her to leave her alone in their small house, while she had to live on the campus, in a dormitory, miles away from her home.

So, even if she was oh so excited to go to the university, she was going to miss her mom like crazy. And the bear hug she received from her mother did nothing to dull the pain in her chest.

“Te voy a extrañar cariño…“ Murmured the older woman softly in her ear, while Luz fought back some tears. She knew it was hard for her mom too, she refused to make this harder for her.

“Yo también mamá.” She responded in a tiny voice, her throat too constricted to talk normally.

“Lo siento, cariño. Tengo que ir a trabajar. Cuidate. Te quiero.” Explained her mother with a small smile, trying to be encouraging, but it was just a facade, sadness making its way into her warm eyes. Luz started to hate her mom’s job even more, she couldn’t even have a day off to enjoy her last few hours with her daughter. But she accepted it, knowing that her mamá had no other choice. Sending her a warm smile, she let the other woman go, waving at her until she went into her car and drove away.

And now, here she was, at a bus station in the middle of the city, waiting for her ride, alone with her hopeful thoughts and her heavy heart.

One hour before the bus would arrive. So, she stayed patiently there, sitting on the bench, looking at the passerby and sometimes at her phone, trying to kill off time. She was in the middle of reading one of her favorite books that she downloaded on her phone when she suddenly a powerful light invaded her field of vision, making her squint.

Not understanding what was happening, she looked up when the light faded a bit and that’s when she saw it, a huge blob of light in front of her. Pausing an instant in front of the bizarre object, she suddenly looked around, wondering if anyone else saw this too, but people passed by, unfazed by the event, as if she was the only witness of this phenomenon.

She loved strange, unexplainable, things, and as curious as she was, she couldn’t help herself, she had to touch it. A cautious hand started to approach the light, and when she touched it, that’s when she heard it.

A voice was calling her. She looked around suddenly, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Yet this voice was powerful, as if it went right into her head. Her heart started to beat faster, something inside her screaming to step forward, to join this voice. She couldn’t fight it, it was as if her instinct took over, but instead of the usual fight or flight reaction, she only… stepped in. The light engulfed her whole, and everything went blank, a loud “BANG” resonating in her mind.

Immediately her body felt incredibly heavy, her head thumping painfully, her ears ringing, and she couldn’t keep her eyes open for more than a second. She couldn’t have coherent thoughts, everything felt like it was spinning, as if she were drunk. Not that she had been drunk before, though. She never went to a party and never understood what was so interesting about it anyways. But she felt exactly like when she had woken up from anesthesia after the surgery she had a few years prior due to appendicitis. Mind fuzzy, sore limbs, head throbbing and spinning.

Despite everything, she forced herself to sit up… a big error as she immediately wanted to throw up. And when she was able to open her eyes properly, she looked around her, analyzing the weird scene she was in.

Everything was blurry for a second, but once she was able to focus on something, she saw that a lot of people were around her, and for a second, her heart stopped beating. Did she hallucinate about this weird light and when she tried to go toward it, she was hit by a car? She certainly felt awful, but she still had her two arms and legs, and when she looked at herself, there were no notable injuries, no blood, nothing. Nothing she would expect after being run over by a car at least. She was… fine?

Wait a second… she was sitting in the greenest grass she has ever seen and not the grey dirty pavement. There was no grass in this part of the city! Looking up, she started to panic when she saw that the people around her looked nothing like the usual pedestrians. They were all wearing a weird dark cloak, as if they were a part of some cult. And when she really started to analyze all the people around her, she noticed that many of them had long elf ears, and many others didn’t even look like… humans? Horns, fangs, scales, weird looking eyes, unusual skin colors… Either she was seriously hallucinating after some kind of accident, or she died and ended up in the bad place. Because she certainly didn’t hear about any event that would attract cosplayers. She would have been one of the firsts to hear about it if it was the case. Stress made her heart beat faster than ever, she didn’t even have the strength to get up, she just started to blurt out questions, where was she? Who were those people? Why were they looking at her like that? Not even realizing that every word leaving her mouth was in Spanish. She was so panicked that her mind went to its default mode, making her speak the first language she ever learned, the one she was the most comfortable with, the one she always used with her mamá. A vain effort from her own overwhelmed mind to try to calm her down.

No one answered her, of course, they just kept looking at her with big eyes and surprise. She started to shake, wanting to run away from there, something telling her she shouldn’t stay there, that she had to go back to the bus station. But her legs refused to work. She was certainly no coward, on the contrary, but even this was too weird for her! Her ears still ringing, she didn’t even notice that one of the only adults there said something.

That’s when she saw her, a girl, around her age, approaching her, hair dyed in a perfect teal color and golden eyes locked on her own. Wait! Golden eyes? It wasn’t normal! It was colored lenses right? But when she saw her long ears dropping a bit, moving so naturally, that’s when she understood that it wasn’t a costume.

The girl kneeled in front of her, and she had only one reaction: trying to escape. Crawling lamely on the ground, Luz quickly understood that there was no point, she still wasn’t able to move correctly, let alone run away. So, she just moved her hands in front of her like a crazy woman, trying to keep the stranger at a reasonable distance, while another vomit of questions in Spanish left her mouth.

Then, she heard her voice, the same voice as the one who called her, English words making its way to her mind and that’s when she understood that she wasn’t talking in English before. Of course, they wouldn’t answer all of her questions if they didn’t understand Spanish. Calming down a bit, as the stranger ordered her, not understanding why those simple words were able to ground her like this. But they did. The presence of this girl was… calming. And something in her told her that she could trust her.

Luz stopped moving, as she looked right at the strange girl, wondering why she was so close to her and why she kept moving forward. A light blush colored her cheeks when she felt the soft pads of the girl’s fingers brush on her forehead. Her blush exploded into a huge shade of crimson when she felt lips on the same spot a few seconds later. Why was she kissing her like this? Not that she would complain that a cute girl would give her this kind of attention… but still! They were strangers! The stranger directly stood up after this, and she didn’t even have time to form another question, in English this time, when she started to feel something weird inside her.

She was lost and embarrassed, yet it clearly didn’t feel like the normal warmness she would feel due to shyness. It was as if electricity was in her veins, making her blood boil. Suddenly a powerful heat took over her body and she started to sweat like crazy, all the electricity moving into her left hand. Her hand started to ache as it never did before and it wasn’t easy to beat the pain she felt when she fell from a tree when she was younger and sprained her wrist. But this; it was a thousand times worse. She curled around her hand while the sensation of something cutting her skin and flesh rakled all her body. And this heat. She was overheating. What did this girl do to her?! Grunting in pain, she huffed and nearly screamed. Until the horrible sensation stopped abruptly, and everything went back to normal for a second.

She didn’t even have the time to look at her left hand, where the pain was the most unbearable a minute ago, before her vision went black. And nothing. She fell limply on the floor in a loud thump and her mind stopped working.

“Great she didn’t even have her familiar for an hour that she already killed it. Good job Half-a-witch.” Laughed Boscha, in the back, while Amity just lowered her head and growled. Then the head professor helped her to move away the girl from the summoning circle and bring her back to the infirmary with a levitation spell.

That was going to be a long day…

_____________________________

Luz’s eyelids felt heavy, as if she slept way too long. But she knew that she didn’t have too much sleep last night. She was way too excited to finally go to university that she went to sleep insanely late, knowing full well that she had to wake up early in the morning.

When she was able to open her eyes, she saw that it was still dark. At least, she didn’t miss her bus, even if she knew full well that her mom would have kicked her ass out of bed if she overslept for this important day. Ready to go back in the arms of Morpheus, something in the back of her mind bothered her. Frowning a bit, she opened her eyes again, and that’s when she saw it, a gentle, warm, orange light, in her room. Puzzled, she looked at it, and her heart missed a beat when she realized she didn’t recognize the room.

The wavering light was emanating from a candle in the back of the room… She never had a candle in her room! She suddenly sat up, and looked around, panicked, the area around her totally unfamiliar. It looked like an antique bedroom, the kind that would belong into a castle or a manor. Old wallpaper, wooden floor and carpet covering everything, all the furniture made of noble dark wood, and the bed at her right covered by spotless white sheets. She was herself laying on the ground in some kind of makeshift bed. Totally not her room.

Fear filled her, because every normal human being would freak out to wake up at an unfamiliar place that they didn’t remember falling asleep in. She didn’t dare to move, looking around her like a lost and wounded animal, even her breathing made itself low. Where was she? Why was she there? It clearly didn’t look like a room that belonged to the university.

Suddenly, she heard something move, a faint sound, something scraping against the wooden floor and her blood went cold. The tiny hairs on her neck rising up while she tensed, and she saw someone, who was sitting on the desk right under the window, standing up. She was like a deer in the headlights, frozen in her spot while she saw the supposed danger coming to her.

But when the person was close enough, she was able to discern teal hair in the dim light. And that’s when everything that happened a few hours ago came rushing back to her. It wasn’t some vivid dream that her way too much creative mind made up! It really happened! Clearly freaking out, not knowing what this person did to her earlier that caused her so much pain, she was finally able to move. Instantly backing up, her back hit rather forcefully the nightstand behind her, making heavy books fall on her. Grunting in pain, she looked at the stranger fearfully, knowing full well that she must have caught her attention at this point.

“Oh. You’re awake.” The other girl simply stated, her sharp eyes looking down to her, her facial expression being totally unreadable.

“¿Do-donde estoy? ¿Quién eres tú? ¿Qué…qué me has hecho?” She sputtered again, confused and alarmed. She needed answers! Her heart wouldn’t be able to take it longer without proper answers! It was going to drive her crazy!

Still, only a loud sigh left the girl lips, while she crouched down in front of her to be at her eyes level. A light blush coming back on Luz’s cheeks when she remembered the kiss on her forehead from earlier when they were in the same position. But it wasn’t the time to think about this! Especially not if the other girl planned to make her suffer as she did before! She was ready to fight this time if she had to!

“Ugh… Looks like you’re not even able to talk the same language as me… What am I going to do with you?” Was the only response from the green-haired girl. Her voice sounded like she was annoyed and kind of disappointed.

Oh. Right. English. She had to talk in English. This stranger talked English. Words. She had to use words. Breathing in deeply, she tried to calm down her madly beating heart before talking, a sheepish smile making its way on her lips.

“I… uh. I can actually talk in English. Sorry…” Luz shyly confessed, her right hand rubbing her neck. The other girl blinked at her a few times, clearly taken aback.

“Oh. Great.” She blurted, still surprised, a light pink coloring her cheeks, while her ears slightly dropped, a bit ashamed to have judged the other girl so quickly.

An awkward silence filled the space, while the two girls looked at each other in the blank of the eyes, not knowing what to say. Luz having way too many questions jostling in her head to choose which one to ask, while Amity didn’t know at all how to act with the human now that she had woken up.

“So… who are you?” Suddenly asked the human, breaking the uncomfortable silence, finally having settled her mind on this simple question. It was better to start things off if she knew who she was talking to, right?

“Isn’t it rude to ask this before even introducing yourself?” Responded Amity dryly in an exasperated huff. This girl had apparently no manners. But she couldn’t expect more from a commoner, a human at that.

“Oh right! Sorry! I’m Luz. Luz Noceda. Aspiring writer and future college student.” Declared the brown-haired girl with a timid smile, embarrassed. She refused to make this mysterious stranger think she was rude or something like this. So, she presented her right hand to the other girl, waiting for her to shake it.

The green-haired girl had no idea what was “college” and she was surprised that this girl could have enough education to be able to write books or even be a student somewhere since she didn’t look like a noble or a bourgeois. But again, she was quick to judge. Still, she looked sternly at the extended hand, not moving at all to grab it, leaving it hanging in the air, until this “Luz” understood and dropped it at her side.

“I’m Amity Blight. Daughter of Alador and Odalia Blight, Duke and Duchess of Bonesborought.” The witch announced with a rather arrogant expression, which made Luz’s brows furrow a bit. She never had the… best interactions with the snotty kids at her last school.

That’s it until the worlds of the other girl really sunk in. And her eyes went wide open, jaw slightly dropping.

“Wait, wait, wait. Duke and Duchess? You’re an aristocrat or something like that? And Bonesborough? What’s Bonesborough? Is it some kind of city? I never heard of it before. In which state is it? Well if it’s in the United States of course, I mean, there’s not a lot of aristocrats around there usually, you could be British or I don’t know I don’t want to judge. Wait, does assuming that every noble are from Britain is-“ she started to ramble quickly, the poor human a tiny bit overwhelmed by the lack of information, all the questions jostling in her mind finally spilling out. At least until the cold glare of Amity made her stop right in the middle of her confusing speech and she gulped loudly. She did it again, people always told her that, she talked too much.

“Firstly, yes, I’m a noble. And not “something like that”, have some respect please. Secondly, Bonesborough is literally the town we are in right now. And then, I don’t know what “United States” or “Britain” are, but it must be some human thing I suppose?” Inquired Amity, a brow raised, while she saw her familiar visibly becomes paler.

“Human…?” Repeated Luz after her, while her eyes focused on the pointed ears that the green bob cut couldn’t hide. “You’re not human…? I mean, it’s kinda oblivious with the ears and the yellow eyes and all but… are you a vampire or something?” Hesitated Luz, her own hands coming on her round ears to emphasize her words, before sliding to her neck, hiding it. Her heart started to beat faster. She felt fear knot her stomach, but she couldn’t look away or try to escape, she was fascinated by the girl in front of her, was it this “vampire attraction” that she read about in her books? Suddenly a small chuckle, so discreet and pretty, came from the Blight’s lips.

“A vampire? No. Of course not. You’re funny. I’m a witch. We are at Hexside, School of Magic and Demonics, after all.” She grinned, amused by this girl and her innocence. She was so ignorant of everything that was going on. Which would have been annoying if all those reactions weren’t so interesting.

All of sudden, the human eyes started to shine brightly when she heard the words “witch” and “magic”. She might have been gullible to be this happy for something like this, but she always dreamed of this kind of thing, a fantasy world with magic and witches, as in one of her favorite books of all time “The Good Witch Azura”. Nothing proved that the green haired girl in front of her was good and not some witch practicing dark magic, planning to use her as her next sacrifice, but, at this point, she could only wish that it wasn’t the case.

“Witch? Magic? You’re a witch and you do magic?! We’re in a magical world?!” Cried out the human, beaming, thrilled by all the things the witch said. Quickly getting up, unable to contain the bubbling excitement in her chest. Looking like a small child during a Christmas morning. She couldn’t even stand still, balancing herself on the ball of her feet, a bright smile embedded on her face. Taking Amity a bit aback, she never saw someone so… full of life before. It was unsettling, but at the same time, she had to confess that was a really endearing trait coming from the human. 

“Well, we can say that the Boiling Isles is a “magical world” for someone who comes from the Human’s Realm where magic doesn’t exist.” She stated, getting up too and dusting herself, avoiding the question about “doing magic”. It wasn’t like she wanted to expose all of her problems and weakness to some stupid human she just met and became her familiar after all.

“We are in another Realm?! That’s amazing!” Exclaimed the human, more and more impatient to go out and discover everything new around her. If it was a dream, it was the best of them all, and the most realistic. If it wasn’t, she was the luckiest human! But right when she thought about it, her happiness got tampered, something bugging her. “Uh… but… why am I here? I remember I saw a light and I followed it. And then we were surrounded by a crowd and you did something to me and I blacked out. Am I some kind of chosen one? Do I need to fight a bad guy or a terrific monster?!” She nearly screamed, bouncing on her feet, her hands flapping in the air at the rush of enthusiasm coming back to her again.

This time, Amity had to restrain a full laugh coming from her lips, stifling it with the back of her hand. But she quickly calmed down, even if the ghost of a mocking smile stayed on her lips.

“Is every human as imaginative as you or is it just you seriously? No. You’re not a chosen one, I doubt a human could really fight better than witches if we were in danger.” She preferred to clarify the situation before the human had other ideas of this kind. Humans were fragile, magicless. Even if she wasn’t pleased that her familiar was just a useless human, she didn’t want for her to endanger herself in a fight or something like this.

The smile on the brown-haired girl quickly died, leaving her pouting a bit, disappointed that her dream of being a medieval fantasy hero wasn’t going to happen today despite all the odds. Still, this information didn’t answer her questions, and she became kind of anxious about why she was there when she wasn’t supposed to. Seeing the confused look on the human face, Amity just sighted and cleared her throat, ready to finally enlighten her familiar about the situation she was in.

“The light you saw, it was a portal that was created when I tried to summon my familiar. And… you responded to my call. When I put my lips on your forehead, I shared some of my magic with you to engrave the runes you have on your left hand, marking you as my familiar.” Finally, answered Amity, glaring at the said left hand where her mark was. Looking at Luz who raised it in front of her wide eyes, taken aback by the explanations.

“It means that… I’m your familiar? Like a witch and her black cat?” Hesitated Luz, quietly, having a difficult time to wrap her mind around this strange notion. Even in her books, she never heard about a human becoming a witch familiar. She didn’t even know what a familiar was supposed to really do! It was usually just a witch side-kick or something like that. She really didn’t know what to think about it. Be happy to be a part of a magical thing or freaked out about what it could imply.

“It’s cliché. But yes, a witch and her black cat. The main role of a familiar is to store. Little by little, the magic of its master and give it back when the master needs it. And also, a witch and a familiar have to protect each other, until death set them both apart. That’s basically it. You just have to… stick around and I don’t know, do your human things I guess.” Stated the witch calmly, crossing her arms and waiting for whatever reaction this strange human would have with the news. She really wasn’t ready for another freak out or overreaction sincerely.

Luz, for her part, just stood here, taking her time to process the words carefully, trying to really understand what all of this meant. “Until death set them both apart”? Seriously? What was it? Marriage vows? She breathed in deeply, trying to not let the panic sink in again while she feared what the words implied. 

“I…I need fresh air.” She simply admitted, overwhelmed by this rollercoaster of emotions, before going to the huge window, pulling the thick green curtains made of velvet and turning the golden knob. Opening the window, she let the cold air of the night kiss her face for a moment, making it tingle a bit, the sensation proving to her that all of this wasn’t a weird dream.

Yet, when she finally opened her eyes, her jaw dropped off. Before her, high in the clearest night sky she has ever seen was not, one, but two moons, one blue and the other pink, nearly touching each other. And when her eyes focused on the horizon, she saw a colossal skull, bones coming from the ground here and there. As if the whole isle was built on the carcass of a titan…

It was strange and maybe a bit sordid… but beautiful, and even if it wasn’t totally the kind of friendly and cute landscapes she imagined when she built her fantasy worlds, it wasn’t that different. Still, her heart clenched. Something like this couldn’t exist on the Earth. She wasn’t at her place here. She wasn’t home… Clenching her jaw, she sighed, staying at the window, but still throwing her last question at Amity.

“Until death set us apart… Does it mean that I won’t be able to go back to my world?” She asked, trying to not let her worries eat her alive. But she couldn’t help herself, she sounded a bit bitter.

“…Yes.” Amity finally admitted. Knowing full well that two reactions were possible. Either the human was honored to be the familiar of a noble witch, or she would be angered that she pulled her out of her realm for this. And with this question, the witch knew it would be the second option.

At the confirmation, Luz immediately turned to face her and snapped off. But it was more due to the panic than real anger. After all, it was principally her fault to have followed this light in the first place.

“Look! I’m honored to be your familiar and all of this. Really! But I’ve a life back in my world! I have a family! And a future! I can’t stay there forever! I’m not a part of this world…” The human started to lament, chest heaving with ragged breaths, totally tensed at the whole idea of her old life being ripped from her so suddenly.

“I know! But it’s not like I’ve chosen it! And even if I authorize you to go back to your Realm, it would be impossible. There were magical items used to travel through Realms, but they are rare, and even my whole family’s wealth wouldn’t be able to buy one of them. And the only witch powerful enough to be able to create such portals is the Emperor. But you’ll never be able to even talk to him, so asking something to him is out of the question.” Amity clarified, her lips pinched, something in her being disappointed to have such a reaction from her now life-partner. Even if the most logical part of her brain knew it was normal for the human to worry for all of this. “It’s not like we have other choices…” she quietly breathed out, arms still crossed while she looked at the carpet on the floor.

“I always dreamed about living in a world where magic exists, but I never thought that I would… Ugh…” Whispered the human, more talking for herself than to Amity, not even bothering to finish her sentence. Turning her back to Amity to look at the window again. She refused to face the witch right now, afraid to blame her, when Amity said to herself that she didn’t choose for this to happen. So, she just stared at the skyline of this new world, letting the feelings sink in. While the witch stood just behind her, awkwardly, understanding that the conversation was over for now. The human certainly needed time to come to terms with this information and this new life.

Ready to leave the human be, she stopped right in her tracks when she heard a familiar sound. A stomach growling. And from where she was, she could see the human blush suddenly. Rolling her eyes, she sighed.

“I’ll go get you some food.” She announced. After all, this girl was her familiar, so she was her responsibility now. And since said responsibility was knocked out during the day, missing lunch and dinner, she had to feed her. “Do humans eat bread and fruits?” She asked, curious, not wanting to poison the poor girl who already had a rough night. Amity already had a shitty day, so it wasn’t her intention to make it worse by adding another problem.

A nod was her only response. Satisfied, even if on her way to the kitchens she cursed the human for her lack of manners, she went to grab her some basic food. At least, until she was totally certain that other types of food weren’t fatal for a human. She just hoped that the human wasn’t dumb enough to try to escape. She didn’t know their world at all and she couldn’t go back to her Realm anyways.

Luz, for her part, didn’t move from the window, even if her eyes dropped to the roof of several houses, not so far from the school. Her heart being heavy, while she thought about her own home. It was already hard this morning to think that she wouldn’t see her mom for several months while she was at the university… but now… it might be all her life. And she couldn’t help but pinch herself to confirm one last time it wasn’t a dream, bittersweet as possible.

“Ugh… what can I do…” She wondered, still having a hard time to accept the facts. “Te voy a extrañar mamá…” She finally whispered, her shoulders slouching. Not certain that she would be able to eat, even if she was literally starving right now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

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	3. Come on! Do your magic!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOW! Already more than 130 kudos and 1100 hits! With only 2 chapters? Thank you so much for your support everybody and all the comments you left! It's amazing, and I hope I'll live up to your expectations with the futur of this story!
> 
> This chapter is REALLY long, the first 2 chapters were 9K long together, this one is nearly 9K alone. So it took a bit more time to write it, sorry for the wait. But I hope you'll enjoy it! 
> 
> Thanks again to my beta-readers Ambenya and JuliaCorvia who did a wonderful job and edited everything in just one day! :)

The same night, Eda couldn’t think about anything else other than what happened during the Familiar Summoning. Sure, she wasn’t that surprised when she saw the little Blight invoke a human, an unusual witch with an unusual familiar seemed to fit after all. But something told her that there was more than just that…

That’s why she was there, late at night, in the school's forbidden library, doing research. While she hated the actual library, usually full of students during most of the day reading all kinds of useless books on how to do “proper magic”, this part of the library was her lair. For once, she was happy to be the head teacher of this school, otherwise she wouldn’t have been authorized here. Even if it wasn’t like she didn’t sneak out in this place several times already when she was a student herself, but still.

This place was full of books that were considered “unfit” in the eyes of the emperor. And while there was a lot about dark magic, that wasn’t what interested her. Right now, she was reading a book relating all the most important familiar invocations in history. Humans… there were just a few rare cases, and nothing was too explicit about it. Clearly frustrating. And despite all the books on humans she had read, only one line was able to catch her attention.

“Oh? Really? It’s… surprising. I really doubt this about little Blight but, eh. It might be interesting to keep an eye on this.” She talked to herself under her breath with a small smile, closing the book. This one had no furthermore information and she had enough for the night anyways. It was time for her to go to sleep.

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The human was curiously… silent. She ate without saying anything, sometimes scrunching her face as if she didn’t like the taste of the food. Little did Amity know that it nearly had the same taste as what could be found on Earth, but Luz forced herself to eat while her own stomach protested, upset due to all the stress and emotions she went through during the last hour.

Still, both girls remained silent for the rest of the night. No more words needed for now. The human tried to stomach the new and the witch tried to get accustomed to another presence in her life and personal space. Neither of them knew how to act with the other during this hard time. And finding sleep wasn’t an easy task for them this night. But all the events of the day got the better of them and they both ended in a deep slumber.

The next morning was mostly eventless, the witch gave a school tour to Luz, and while she was able to see a smile creep on the human lips, and some stars shine in her eyes when she introduced her to some basic magical things, the human was always quickly back to her sour mood.

Just after lunch, the school was mostly empty, and Amity knew perfectly why but she preferred to avoid the fact. But they had to walk through the garden that surrounded the school if she wanted to go back to her room at the dormitory. So, after killing as much time as possible, she resolved herself, walking to the garden, Luz still silently following her, lost in her thoughts.

Once they reached the exterior of the school, they could see a lot of students accompanied by their familiars. All of them talking animatedly, showing off the creatures, petting them, or even using their magic, already training with their companions. And at this, Luz stopped in her tracks to look at the scene before them. The human was captivated, oohing and aahing when she saw other students make magic circles in the air, a different effect surprising her every time.

“What’s happening there?” Luz finally said. It was the first words she said today, and strangely, Amity found herself able to breathe again, as if she was relieved to see her partner starting to open up to her. Not that she really cared about the human girl, she was comprehensive, at most, and this Luz was her responsibility now, that’s all. But the awkward silence treatment since last night was a bit too heavy. Even for her.

“That? Well, sixth year students never have class after a familiar summoning. So, everyone takes advantage of the opportunity to get to know a bit better the familiars they just invoked.” Amity quietly explained, her lips making a straight line when she looked at all the other students enjoying their time with all the diverse creatures, cooing them, brushing them, playing with them. She must admit that she was kind of jealous, why couldn’t it be as easy for her?

“I… uh… I don’t really want to do that…” Confessed Luz under her breath, her brows scrunching a bit when she looked at someone who was with a small dog with three tails and a pair of horns, petting the little monster with a big smile. “It would be extra weird if you started to pet me like that to be honest ahah.” She continued, a hand coming to rub the base of her neck, clearly embarrassed, her laugh being kind of dry and forced. It made her extremely uneasy to be considered as a pet. She knew she was a familiar now, the runes engraved on her left hand proved that point, but, still, she stayed human.

“Ugh. Don’t count on me, I don’t want to either.” Retorted the witch with a wince of disgust at the mere idea. She never was at ease with affection in the first place, so thinking treating a human as any other familiar or a vulgar pet was just upsetting at this point. She preferred to ignore all of this and go back to her room before anyone could annoy her anyways, so she just continued to walk straight to the dormitory.

Luz quickly followed her, not having a difficult time to catch up, since she was taller than the witch. Yet, she wasn’t done with the whole ordeal. She couldn’t wrap her mind about this “familiar” thing. She knew what was the utility of a familiar, Amity did a great job at explaining this to her. But she still couldn’t understand what a familiar _was_. And where, her, a human, falls, under this notion.

“So… well… by the way…” She started, trailing off, just catching the witch's attention who looked back at her, slowly stopping her walking again, an eyebrow cocked to press her to continue. “How should I call you...? “Mistress”? Since I’m your familiar and all of that.” Finally asked Luz, cringing a bit at the idea and at how unnatural it felt to call someone else like this for her. But she needed to know what the witch expected of her.

“WHAT?!” Blurted Amity suddenly, facing the other girl with big round eyes, ears low, her cheeks blossoming in pink at how inappropriate it sounded. “No! No! Certainly not! Even my domestics back at home don't call me that. They call me “Miss Blight”, but ugh. I don’t care. Just call me Amity. You’re my familiar, not a pet or a servant.” She quickly affirmed, before walking, even faster, to her room.

“But I thought that-“ Luz didn’t even have time to continue before the green-haired witch was too far to hear her. Did that mean familiars weren’t supposed to be pets or servants then? She just dropped the idea of asking Amity what her role was in all of this, feeling like she had angered the other teen. Sighing, she did what was the best course of action, she followed her, again. Just hoping that, if she had to stay here, she could at least have her own kind of freedom despite this strange bound between them.

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Dinner had only been a couple hours ago, but Luz swore that if she stayed in this room any longer, she would end up going crazy. With Amity being there, even if the girl was captivated by her homework, she couldn’t think correctly, or just let herself breathe and let everything that happened the past two days really sink in. She needed to be alone for this. Because she knew that if she broke down here and there, in front of the other girl, she wouldn’t be able to pardon herself. Amity never asked for all of this, just like herself, she had to deal with the situation. Showing her how upset she was due do all of this wouldn’t help, she didn’t want the witch to think that she was ungrateful for being her familiar or that she didn’t like her. It wasn’t the problem. She refused to put this pressure on her shoulders.

Luz learned from a young age to keep her problems for herself. Other people never cared enough to listen to her, or were easily bored. Well, at least her mother had always been there for her, and she knew she could share everything with her. But as the time went on and her problems grew more and more upsetting, she quickly saw that it affected her mother and that the poor woman was overwhelmed by it all, not knowing how to help her daughter other than listening to her and getting more and more stress with it and her work. The day she heard her mom cry herself to sleep when she told her how a girl from her class bullied her when she found out she was bisexual, was the day she swore to keep her problems for herself and not make her mom put up with it. She was old enough to deal with it alone.

So, no, she refused to bother Amity with her whirlwind of emotions, and she refused to blame the other girl for what happened anyways. Because she knew that if she really had to stay all her life with her, it wouldn’t be a great start at all. And she knew that if she started to talk everything out, she might start to blame her. She was already frustrated to not be able to get the answers she needed from her, so she refused to make things worse than they already were.

That's why, after a few more insufferable minutes, she stood up and started to walk toward the desk where Amity was sitting.

“Hey, I wondered… can I go outside? I won’t go far, I just need to stretch my legs a bit. It won’t take long.” She tried, hoping that the witch would be lenient enough to allow her to have some alone time. After all she didn’t really know what she was allowed to do or not in this new world, with these new rules and with this new title as a familiar.

“Hm? Yes. Of course. You’re free to do what you want, as long you don’t cause troubles or hurt yourself dumbly. Just try to not disturb other people, everyone already talks about how weird it is to have a human here, I don’t want it to be worse than it is already.” Answered Amity, her expression being unreadable again while she avoided eye contact. Her tone being calm, nearly too calm, sounding like it was just flat. But her words made Luz tense a bit. Yet Amity didn’t see it, while she just concentrated again to write inside some sort of diary, turning her back to her.

“Oh. Ok. Thank you… later then.” Responded the human, not wanting to stay any longer. She didn’t know at all how to act around the witch, especially when she was withdrawn like this. That’s why she didn’t need to be asked twice, she was ready to leave this room as quick as possible.

Closing the heavy wooden door behind her, she felt herself able to breathe again.

Walking silently toward the exterior, she tried to remember her way through the complicated corridors. She found herself lucky to not run into anyone, it was very unlikely for her, but for now, she didn’t have any energy to bear with social interaction. Soon enough, she was in the court, the cold air of the night making her shiver, since she only had her short-sleeved hoodie on her, but she didn’t mind at all. It felt great and calming. Like a cold shower after overheating under the summer sun.

Yet, when she looked at the two moons above her, even this calming sensation of a fresh night and this magical sigh, wasn’t enough to fill the empty hole in her chest. It wasn’t home. Everything around her reminded her of that. And it felt so strange, to be torn between wanting to be there, discovering everything that this new world could offer to her, and the crushing need to be back on Earth, to be able to see her mother's face again. She still wasn’t able to realize that only yesterday was maybe the last time she would have seen her mom. It’s what hurts the most. She was her only family and she felt horrible that she had to leave her alone like this… even if she hadn’t a choice, she couldn’t help but think how sad the only person who truly loved her in this life would be if she never came back. It’s only when she looked at the sky again, in a vain hope to be able to see a trace of her own realm, that she noticed that tears were silently rolling on her cheeks.

Wiping them with the back of her hand, she wasn’t able anymore to hold back a sob, choking a bit as even more tears ran out of her eyes. She tried to breathe deeply, to calm herself, but the weight of everything going on was catching up to her now that she was entirely alone. She needed that, she needed to let out all of this, she was suffocating at trying to keep all of this bottled up and just rolling with whatever happened. Yet, it didn’t hurt her less. She knew she couldn’t go back to her old life, and while she was kind of grateful to it, because she never felt like she really fit somewhere back there, it still was difficult to really accept it easily.

The most frustrating though? She didn’t even know why she was there! Yes, she was invoked by a witch, yes, she was a familiar! But why her? There were so many other people on earth, Amity could have invoked a manticore or a basilic or any other badass creature, not a human. Why was plain old Luz there? What part did she have to play in this world? What did people, Amity, this school, expect out of her? She couldn’t believe that she was only here to be some kind of glorified pet. Familiars were specials for witches no? It was what she had read in many books at least. Yet it seemed so difficult to reach Amity. Frustrating, it was so frustrating.

Without knowing it, her steps lead her to a place that Amity showed her earlier this morning. The stalls where most familiars were kept. After all, it wasn’t like they could fit a whole dragon into a room, even if the rooms of this school were huge. She didn’t really know why she walked here, but the human thought that she wasn’t there by chance, maybe if she spent time with other familiars, she would understand.

Drying her cheeks of tears with the palm of her hands, she opened the huge door as discreetly as possible. The wood creaking and making her wince, especially when she saw the creatures look at her, intrigued by the strange sound. Luz just froze when she saw all the different monsters literally coming from a fantasy book stare at her, and for a minute she feared that she had made a big error by coming at her. What was worse than being stuck in a realm that isn’t yours? Getting mauled by a bunch of wild weird animals from said realm.

“H-Hey guys!...” The human gulped, waving her left hand to them slowly, while she tried to evaluate if the best course of action was to stay still or back off carefully. Yet she didn’t have time, she felt something pushing her back, making her jump out of her skin while she held back a scream of terror.

Luz prudently turned back to see what hit her like this, and she saw a big… pigeon head. Looking at it with wide eyes, the thing just chirped at her, bumping its head to hers. And that’s when she understood that it was a griffin, the familiar runes engraved on its feline chest. The animal looked everything but aggressive, on the contrary. It looked at her, with expecting eyes, its bird head tilting occasionally to the right and to the left. And at this cute display, Luz couldn’t help herself, she let a wide smile crept onto her lips, while her hands came to scratch gently the bird head.

“Oooh, aren’t you a friendly gal, hm?” She grinned, the griffin cooing at her as a simple answer, letting her pet its giant head, closing its eyes, while the human let her hands roam in the fluffy grey feathers.

She was astounded, if someone told her that one day, she would be able to be near a griffin, let alone touch it, she would have thought that this person mocked her, as always. But no, here she was, in the middle of the night, becoming friends with a giant bird. It was surreal. Her hand trailed off on the fluffy chest of the creature, until her fingers brushed against the runes adorning the fur. She stopped directly to move her fingers and looked at her own runes engraved on her left hand, a sad smile creeping on her lips.

“Eh… Look at me. We’re exactly the same, and yet, here am I, petting you like this.” She laughed sourly, dropping her hands at her side, while the griffin shoots her a confused look, wondering why she stopped petting it. “Hey. Are you happy to be here? I wonder what your witch and you do usually. They seem to take good care of you, you’re a bundle of affection and your feathers are so shiny.” She trailed off. She knew that the other familiar couldn’t respond, and there was a fat chance that it couldn’t even understand her words. But still, she couldn’t help but wonder and hope that the creature would give her an answer.

“Yeah, Viney is pretty great.” Suddenly replied a small voice, making Luz eyes bulge at the surprise, eyeballing the griffin in front of her.

“Wait, wait… You can talk?! Or is it some super special familiar powers where I can understand other familiars? Is it telepathy? I haven’t seen your beak move! Wow, it’s crazy!” Luz gushed, her hands coming to cup the bird head, but its eyes remained empty, just looking at her, even more confused.

It’s at this moment that she heard a laugh and steps coming toward her and when she turned her head to see who was coming, she saw a boy, looking a bit younger than her, a sweet smile on his lips while his ears lowered a bit, embarrassed to have startled her like this.

“Eheh, sorry, it’s just me. I’m Augustus, and you must be Amity’s human familiar? Do they make you spend the night here?” He questioned, his brows furrowing a bit, concerned. This place wasn’t human friendly and it wasn’t comfortable at all. If Amity let the girl sleep here, he would have to talk to her seriously. He wasn’t an expert, but he knew a lot about humans, and he knew that they could easily end up sick and worse in these conditions.

At the question, Luz quickly waved her hands in front of her, refusing to let someone think that her summoner was this harsh with her.

“Oh no! No! I just needed fresh air and I ended up there. Amity made a place for me in her room! It might be just a makeshift bed, but it’s way better than sleeping in hay here.” She rapidly explained, a nervous laugh leaving her lips, seeing relief on the witch face. “I’m Luz by the way! Augustus you said? Can I call you Gus? I knew an Augustus back in the human world and everyone called him Gus!” She asked with a wild smile. While the “Gus” she knew in the human realm was a real crackhead, the witch in front of her seemed sweet and friendly, and she thought that the nickname fit correctly!

“Gus? A human nickname?! Of course, you can call me Gus!” He cheered suddenly, accepting this new name without second thoughts, balling his fist in front of him and shaking them to show his excitement. Which made Luz smile even more, happy that the witchling liked the idea.

Suddenly, Luz was pushed once again, nearly tripping on her own feet and falling. But she has the reflex to hold herself around the griffin neck. The animal tried to get her attention for more petting, while it chirped in her ears. Chuckling a bit, she started to scratch lightly its feathers and she could swear that she heard it start to purr.

“Looks like Puddles like you! She’s never this affectionate with people she doesn’t know.” Stated Gus, a wide smile revealing his white fangs, but it wasn’t threatening at all, on the contrary.

Luz started to wonder if every witch had fangs too, she never really saw them with Amity, but the girl was usually way more reserved. Yet, despite his open attitude and positivity, Luz couldn’t help but stop petting the griffin, looking a bit embarrassed.

“Oh sorry! Is she yours? I should have maybe asked before starting to give her attention like this. Sorry!” The human started to panic. She really didn’t know the customs of this realm and if it was badly seen to be like that with the familiar of someone else or anything. Well Gus didn’t look like he was offended, or anything else, but still!

“No, she’s not my familiar, she’s Viney’s. She works at the school’s infirmary, she was a student here two years ago. She’s pretty cool. And don’t worry, I doubt she’ll mind that you spend time with Puddles.” Reassured Gus quickly, offering her a comforting smile, before his attention went to something at his right, coming out of one of the box stalls. Light footsteps making themselves heard, before… another Gus rejoined the former one to look at Luz with a wide smile.

The human was dumbfounded for a second, not really understanding why she was seeing double, rubbing her eyes to be sure that she wasn’t hallucinating due to something she ate during dinner or something like this. But no, the second Gus was still there. And it made the former witch laugh a bit when he saw how troubled the human was.

“Here’s my familiar. I went to see them actually. That’s why I’m here. I couldn’t spend time with them this afternoon, so I promised that I would be there tonight.” He presented the other Gus, who stayed silent, just taking a step toward Luz, who, despite the explanations, was still a bit lost.

“Uhh… is your familiar your twin or your evil alter-ego?” She tried, not sure that her theories were right, but she didn’t know a lot about this new world, so, anything could be possible right?

At this moment the second Gus moved right beside her and looked at her for a few seconds, head to toe, before nodding and his shape started to melt away, reforming itself, and when Luz saw herself in front of her she gasped. Stars shining suddenly in her eyes while she couldn’t help herself, she let out a squeal, before moving madly in front of her double, hoping it would copy her moves. Things the familiar did for a few seconds before getting bored and just shrugging, coming back to their owner.

“They’re a shapeshifting slime. Usually people don’t look twice at them, but I find them pretty neat!” He finally explained, looking proudly at his familiar, who, once again, started to shift. But this form was so much smaller. Once the creature finished it just looked like a pink floating blob with eyes. They were kinda cute if she was honest. And the little blob just rubbed itself on Gus cheek, making him cradle it softly in his hands.

“They are so cool!” Exclaimed Luz enthusiastically, which made the witch literally beam at her, happy to see that someone else was able to appreciate his little companion even if it wasn’t a beautiful phoenix or a majestic pegasus.

And that’s how they started to talk together, animatedly, about everything. Mainly about familiars and what kind of creature lived on the Boiling Isles, but Gus took the opportunity to ask her many things about the human world too. Despite how bland her own realm was compared to this one, the witch seemed thrilled to be able to hear all kinds of banal things about it. And Luz was glad to finally be able to talk normally to someone, to enjoy someone's company like this without fearing the other person judging her or trying to prank her. It was… relieving, and she was able to breathe a bit again.

Still, this question stayed and bothered her more and more. And while they talked about familiars again, she couldn’t help herself, she had to say it, she needed an answer. Her thumb rubbing absently her skin on her left hand, where the runes ᚷᚨᚾᛞᚨᛚᚠᚱ were engraved. She had no idea if it meant something, but it still intrigued her.

“Hey Gus… tell me. What’s a familiar supposed to be? I mean. I know what they have to do, but… are they just pets? Or servants? I totally don’t know how I’m supposed to act as a familiar to be honest…” She finally let out, staring at the dusty stone floor. She wasn’t certain that she was ready to hear a concrete answer, but she knew that she needed it. If she had to accept this new life, she had to know what it would be.

The witchling looked lost in thoughts for a few seconds, rubbing pensively his chin, pondering what would be the best answer to give to the human next to him.

"Well... some witches do consider their familiar as their servants... or even their slaves…” He started, making Luz suddenly look fearful. She definitely didn’t want to end up like some sort of slave! It would be horrible! And even if Amity didn’t look like this kind of person, despite her snobbish behavior, she still was a bit anxious.

At this moment, Gus saw how uncomfortable Luz looked like and he preferred to immediately clarify everything, waving his hands in front of him to dismiss any dark ideas the human could have.

“But! It's frowned upon. Most of the time we consider our familiars as our friends…” He trailed off with a small smile, petting the pink blob who seemed to be asleep in his hands. “I mean, spending our life with each other we better be friends! And taking care of each other, playing, training, learning, growing up... isn't it what friends are supposed to do together?" He declared, beaming, while he looked fondly at his own familiar. Not knowing at all that this simple statement would incredibly help the human to find her place in this world.

"Friends you said... ? I could work with that..." Luz mumbled under her breath, talking to herself, thinking loudly. That was right, Amity clearly said that she didn’t consider her as a servant or as a pet so… what if she tried to be her friend? The witch was a bit stuck up, that was for sure, but she was certain that they would appreciate each other's company! And despite everything, Amity was nice, she was able to tell it. She took time to explain a lot of things, and she took care of her when she didn’t have to. So yes, maybe they could be friends! After all, why else was she meant to be her familiar? Whatever strange destiny was behind all of this, it must mean something!

So, even if she was still shaken about being ripped off her own realm, and not able to go back… Luz promised herself two things that night. She would do everything she could to go back to Earth one day. Because Amity didn’t say it was impossible, so there was still a chance, right? She had all her life to find a solution. And then… she would befriend Amity, her summoner, and be the best familiar possible! And now, even if it started to get late, she wanted nothing more than to try to talk to the green haired witch.

Luz was just ready to throw her arms around Gus, thanking him about how much he helped her to figure things out. She never really cared about personal space, something that a lot of people reproaches her often. But right now, she didn’t even think about it. Still, she stopped dead in her tracks when they both heard voices outside the stable. Voices that they never heard before.

Looking at each other puzzled, Gus knew that these voices definitely weren't their teachers or any other students. And even if it was, they would be in trouble to be in the stalls after the curfew. Luz, on her part, just seemed curious when she heard the gruff voices talking louder, putting her round ear against one of the wooden planks of the stable to try to hear them better.

_“Boss, are you sure there’s a dragon there…?”_

_“Yes, one of my informers told me that one of the students summoned one as their familiar. It must be here.”_

_“But… is it okay to steal someone else familiar?... I heard that familiars were very important to witches…”_

_“It’s not the moment to be full of good intentions there. Do you know how much snails this dragon is worth on the black market? They are nearly extinct! We will become rich! So, get ready to use the sleeping parchment ok?”_

Luz became suddenly livid at hearing this. Those people were up to no good, that was for sure. And she felt herself get angry at the mere thought of them disrespecting the sacred bond between a witch and a familiar like this. She might have not been there for long, but even she knew it was important!

Yet… it’s not like she could do something alone. She didn’t even know how to fight. She needed help! She looked at Gus, panicked, hoping that he would be able to do some magic trick that would make the intruders run away.

“Gus, tell me that you can do something…?” She whispered, not daring to move or speak louder, afraid that the intruders would notice their presence there.

“I… I can’t. I’m only in sixth year because I master illusions magic. I don’t know any offensive or defensive spells yet. I still can distract them, but then they would understand that someone knows they’re there. Plus, they seem to be demon hunters… they are often looking for the remaining dragons because their body parts are extremely useful for potions. They certainly came prepared… We need to warn someone and get help. I’ll go find teachers, you better go back to Amity, I don’t want you to get hurt.” He quietly explained, brows furrowed in worries, before looking at a small window at the back of the stall, making a hand movement to prompt Luz to follow him.

The human just nodded, biting her lips, frustrated that she couldn’t do anything and that Gus asked her to hide as a coward. But she agreed to escape, if they stayed here any longer it would end up sourly for them. So, she helped the young boy to climb to the window, going out the stalls, and she quickly followed him, making a sprint toward the dormitory, leaving, unnoticed.

Gus swiftly made his way to the professor's quarters, while Luz continued to run toward Amity’s room, and during the couple of minutes she took to reach her destination, she decided that she had to do something too! She couldn’t act as if nothing happened. It wasn’t her. She never hides, even if she knew that she couldn’t measure up against her opponent.

She didn’t know how she remembered correctly the way through the corridors, but once she was in front of the familiar door, she was glad for it. She didn’t take the time to knock, she opened abruptly the door, making the teal haired witch jump out of her skin at the surprise. She was in a light pink nightgown, reading calmy on her bed, when she was interrupted by the human girl. And she hastily got up, a growl coming from her throat, not pleased at all by the rude and impetuous behavior coming from her familiar.

“Don’t you know how to knock human?!” She scolded, pointing an accusatory finger toward Luz.

But Luz didn’t have time for this, she hurriedly took the extended arm in her hand, yanking a very troubled witch toward her, inciting Amity to leave her room and run with her.

“There’s no time, I need your help right now Amity!” Insisted Luz urgently, and the way she talked made Amity’s stomach drop in panic. And seeing the seriousness on the human face, she didn’t even think about asking why she needed her help. It was important, she knew it.

And at this, Amity couldn’t help herself, she couldn’t fight against it, her body moved on its own and she started to run, following her familiar, something inside her telling her that she needed to listen to Luz. The human girl was already out of breath, but she fought to keep her pace, a pace that the witch had difficulties to follow, but did her best. Until they both were outside, in the court, and Luz tried to make her steps quieter, coming toward the familiars stable.

The witch tried to regain her breath for a moment, before looking at Luz’s weird behavior with furrowed brows. And that’s when she found the presence of mind to ask why she was there, outside, in her nightgown, without any explanation.

“Luz seriously, what did you do?! I swear to the Titan that I’ll lock you up in the room if-“ She started to scold the human, before the girl quickly put her hand on her mouth, shushing her. Amity just wanted to bite the offending appendage to protest, fuming at how inappropriately Luz acted with her. But voices coming from the stable made her stop dead in her tracks, making her blood run cold for a moment.

_“Come on! The dragon is asleep, we just need to make it levitate to the cart. That’s not that hard!”_

_“I think I heard something outside boss…”_

The two girls didn’t even have time to react and leave when the door in front of them opened and they were face to face with one of the intruders. For a second, the three of them looked at each other in the blank of the eyes, not knowing how to react. But even before the lackey had time to make their presence known to his superior, Luz saw a man in the back, tying up the unresponsive dragon. Rage suddenly rose in her chest, bubbling, and she stepped in, yelling to draw the man's attention to her.

“Hey you! Step away from this familiar right now!” She yelled, clearly challenging the man. She couldn’t see his face right away, a hood covering his head, the intruder stilled for an instant, before turning around to look at the human. But when he saw the girl, he couldn’t help but refrain a mocking laugh.

“What’s a kid doing there so late? Move missy.” He ordered her, his greenish skin nearly glowing in the moons light, while his red eye locked itself on her frame, looking sternly at her, the other being covered by an eyepatch.

“I won’t! I’m a grown-ass woman, and we’ll kick your ass if you don’t leave this familiar alone!” She warned him, taking a fighting stance. She was no fighter, and she certainly barely stood a chance, but she had her fair share of fight against bullies back on earth. And Amity was with her, she could be able to help her with her magic! Right?

Yet, when she looked back at the witch, who came to her side, fear invading her face, she didn’t see that the man pointed a crossbow at her. It’s only when she heard Amity yell at her, that she saw it, but it was too late. The intruder already shot at them.

Fortunately, it wasn’t an arrow, but a net, and Luz fell back on the ground heavily, her body crushing against Amity’s own, the witch being captured too. She tried to move, to wrestle against the thick rope, but each time she started to struggle, she felt like the rope was constricting the both of them more and more. It’s only when she had no more room to move, her body pressed flush against the witch's own, that she let out an enraged yell, frustrated.

“Can you stop moving so much?! These ropes are enchanted! If you continue it’s going to make us suffocate!” Protested Amity, trying to stay calm and still. But Luz could feel her shaking against her.

The human decided to let out a long sigh, leaving them a bit more room to breath correctly and bit her lip to try to ground herself. But her rage didn’t flatten, especially not when she saw the boss and his lackey start to leave with the dragon on the cart following them, the two intruders just laughing at them and at “how lame their rescue attempt was”. Luz clenched her teeth, letting out a dark growl, and the leader decided to stop at her level, with a long grin on his face, even if his lack of lips already showed his sharp fangs. And suddenly the wind was knocked out of her when he gave her a kick in the stomach, making her cough.

“I don’t know, do we leave you there until someone finds you? The rope will surely have done its job by then. Or do I take care of you right now? I don’t want to leave any witness... but at the same time, it would be sad for a great hunter like me to dirty his hands with kids like you. Hmm.” He pondered, rubbing his chin pensively. But Luz didn’t leave him time to do something that she decided to kick him violently on the ankle, making the man bend forward, a pained groan leaving his mouth.

“Come on Amity! Do your magic! We can’t let them go like this!” Hollered the human urgently, hoping that the witch knew a spell to make them free or to stop the two intruders. She could try to buy her time, but she wasn’t able to do much more.

Then, the red eye glared darkly at her, the man having made up his mind about their fate, and Luz visibly became paler at this, her hand searching for Amity’s own behind her, trying to push the witch to do something, while the other girl shivered harder.

“I-… I can’t! I can’t do magic Luz!” Finally admitted the witch in a panicked cry, her hand encircling Luz left-hand while she felt the rope constrict even more around her, tears menacing to leave her eyes. She hated to feel this powerless, this useless… But she couldn’t do anything. It was awful. And even if she tried to do magic, the explosion would just make the rope constrict even more around them. She already had difficulties breathing and she was certain that Luz was in the same state as her right now.

Suddenly, they were yanked off the ground, and the demon hunter lifted them both with only one of his arms, a sarcastic smirk making its place on his face.

“Eh, look at that, a witch that can’t do magic. How pitiful.” He provoked with a small laugh, making Amity feel worse than she already was, not noticing the dark glare that the human sends to him.

But he didn’t even have time to do something, when suddenly a powerful light beam struck him, making him drop them on the floor. Before his body fell forward, shaking, no words leaving his mouth, but he slowly turned around, a fearful look on his face. And he was met by… bunny slippers.

The head teacher was there, not worried at all despite the scene in front of her. She let a long yawn leave her lips, proving that she just woke up a few minutes ago. She was still in her sleeping outfit with messy hair and bags under her eyes. Her finger was slowly tracing another magic circle in the air, and the rope bonding Amity and Luz was cut loose, freeing them. The two girls having never been so relieved to be able to breathe.

Someone else rapidly joined Eda. It was a girl, way younger than the head teacher, with short black hair and round glasses. She looked really pissed when she was face to face with the demon hunter and she started to draw a green magic circle in the air. Just after this, the ground below them started to shake, and huge vines started to grow out of it, encircling the body of the intruder. With a quick look, his lackey was in the same condition as him, the two of them not able to put up a fight against a full-grown witch and the plant magic prodigy.

Luz finally understood that the other girl, around her age, was the dragon’s summoner when she quickly went to the beast side, a gentle hand rubbing affectionately the huge scaled muzzle. The familiar was still asleep, but nothing worse happened, and it was a relief for everyone in the room.

Scratching her huge mane of grey hair, the older witch sighted, and looked at the two girls still on the ground after what happened. A huge sigh leaving her lips.

“I’m glad we arrived on time. The little Porter warned us. We’ll take care of them now. You two girls shouldn’t be here past curfew, but I won’t say anything this time considering the circumstances. You can go back to your room.” Dismissed the teacher, waving them off. She was far too sleepy to keep the students around, she just wanted to throw the two intruders in the detention room until Bump decided what they would do with them, and then go back to sleep.

Wincing at the awkward situation, Luz just thanked the woman, forcing out a smile, before getting up and helping the green haired witch to get back on her feet too. But the other girl hastily let go of her hands and started to leave without further ado, not even glancing back at her familiar. The human felt bad at the cold shoulder treatment, but she could understand it, she put her summoner in danger, of course Amity was pissed at her.

She just followed the witch, silently, head low in shame. And when they both were back in the room, Luz had to break the heavy silence. If she wanted to befriend Amity, she refused to let something like this fester. So, she took a deep breath, trying to regain her courage from earlier. But the heat of the moment was gone, and now she could only find her chest constricting due to the guilt.

“Amity… I’m so sorry that I put you in danger like this… I should have listened to Gus and waited patiently there. I just wanted to help, and I knew I couldn’t do it alone. I thought that-“ She started to explain, still staring at the ground, jaw clenched, trying to make herself as little as possible.

“That what Luz?! That I would be able to fight two full-grown adults used to fight against demons?” Barked abruptly the witch, letting her temper have the best of her, the adrenaline and the fear still clawing at her throat. The shame of not being able to protect herself and her familiar due to her lack of magic reopening some deep wounds.

“Well yes! Sorry, I’m still not used to this world, but I thought that you could fight them with magic or slow them down, I don’t know!” Retorted Luz, frustrated that the witch wouldn’t even try to understand why she did this and just lost her temper with her, when she tried to make things right! If they wanted this familiar thing to work, they would have to make an effort, both of them!

“The problem is I can’t do magic Luz!” Exploded Amity in a cry, finally locking her wet eyes in Luz’s ones, her lower lip quivering nearly imperceptibly, but her face reflected nothing more than resentment. “Yes! I know! It must be a shame to be the familiar of a magicless witch!” She scoffed with a forced laugh, looking away, not able to hold Luz’s stare after confessing this.

Luz was taken aback, not really understanding. Several questions piled up in her mind. Amity couldn’t do magic? Why? And how she invoked her if she didn’t know how to use magic? Still, it’s what the witch said that annoyed her. Ashamed? Because her summoner wasn’t able to do magic? Hell. She wasn’t from the Boiling Isles, she couldn’t care less about this! In her own realm, nobody was able to do magic! She wasn’t going to judge Amity for this.

“Why do you-“ Luz started, and once again, the witch didn’t let her continue. Amity seemed to be a stickler for principles, yet she had this bad habit to not let her finish what she had to say and it was both rude and annoying as hell.

“Look Luz, I don’t want to talk about this. I can’t do magic and I don’t know why, there’s nothing more to say about this, alright?” Simply stated the other girl, cutting the conversation off. And again, another awkward and tense silence filled the room. It looked like that befriending Amity wasn’t going to be this easy… or possible. The witch seemed to have walls built all around her and it wouldn’t be easy to get past them. 

And then, out of nowhere, a knock on the door startled them both. Amity tried to regain her composure, and she did it really fast, after all, she was used to this now. Keeping her mask on, never showing any weakness. She had to be the perfect Blight. Making her way to the door, walking past Luz and totally ignoring her, she opened the door just a bit to see who was behind, still a bit wary after what just happened. But when she saw Willow's face, she opened it totally, the plant witch offering her a wide gentle smile.

“Amity, Luz!” She greeted them happily, before seeing the confused look on the human face. After all, they haven't introduced each other yet. “Gus told me your name.” She explained with a sweet tone, before sending a shy smile to the green haired witch. “Sorry to bother you at this hour, I know it is late…” She breathed out, seeing the quirked eyebrow of the girl who opened the door. “I just wanted to thank you both for what happened earlier. You held back the demons hunters. Without you Miss Clawthorne and I would have arrived too late and… they would have taken away my familiar. Thank you so much… really.” She declared, a genuine and grateful spark dancing in her black eyes behind her glasses.

“Willow… it’s nice of you, but… we didn’t do anything really.” Confessed Amity, a bit embarrassed. She was used to working hard to have people act like this with her, she felt like she didn’t really deserve any of it. She just followed Luz after all.

“Nonsense Amity, you were there when you didn’t have to be. And your presence really helped. That’s the most important.” Insisted the other witch, having none of that. That’s why she opened the small messenger bag she had at her side, and took out two glass bottles from it, offering them to the two other girls. “It’s not much, but I really want you to have this, as a thank you. I grew them myself.” She explained with a shy grin, her cheeks going pink.

Luz grabbed the bottle, while Amity let it fall in her cupped hands. Analyzing it, the human was mesmerized at how pretty it was. A single flower was standing inside it. It hadn’t bloomed yet, but the flower held a blue color, glowing softly, and the bottle was warm in her hands. It was strange, since she wasn’t from there, but she could feel the magic coming from it. At her side, Amity had round, big eyes, her face invaded by a strong shade of pink.

“What is it? It's beautiful Willow!” The human exclaimed with a big smile, holding high the bottle, while she couldn’t tear off her eyes from the magical flower.

At this, and when she saw the embarrassed look on the Blight’s face, the plant witch couldn’t help herself but to chuckle a bit, making Amity’s ears lower even more. She never was at ease with this kind of thing.

“It’s called “Éclair d’amour”. It’s a rare flower that blooms only when you fall in love with someone, and informs you of the condition of your significant other.” Explained Willow, the witch looking so passionate about all of this. She seemed to really like plants and flowers. Amity was glad that she found her path. But right now, she was still troubled, romance was never an easy thing for her.

“Oh wow! I can’t believe that something like that exists! It’s so romantic! Well I doubt that I’ll really need it here, but still, thank you it’s a great gift.” Beamed Luz happily. She was already glad that Willow’s familiar was fine, but this gift was the cherry on the cake. Having a magical item like this was so cool, even if she was certain she would have no use of it there, it could always be useful if she ever found a way back to the Human Realm. At least it alleviated the sour mood there was in this room before Willow’s visit.

“Thank you Willow, it’s really thoughtful of you.” Agreed Amity, the pink of her cheeks having receded a bit while she offered a small smile to the other witch.

“It’s my pleasure! Have a good night you two, see you tomorrow in class.” Smiled Willow, before leaving to go back to her own room, just a few doors away from Amity’s, leaving the witch and her familiar on their own, alone with their thoughts after everything that had happened.

Amity simply put the flower aside in one of her drawers, before preparing herself to bed once again, no other worlds exchanged with her familiar for the night. Leaving Luz, still wide awake in her makeshift bed, thinking about how she could surmount the walls Amity put around herself. Yet, it wasn’t tonight that she would manage to do it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

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	4. A familiar's duty.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! 
> 
> I still can't believe that we've reached nearly 200 kudos and 2000 hits. With 80 followers and so many positive comments. You guys are crazy! I'm so happy to see that so much person like this story, I wouldn't have believed it. I have so much planned for this fic, I hope I won't disappoint you! I'll try to do my best! :)
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> Also, if you ever have questions about this fic, or just want to talk to me, you can reach me on my Tumblr : Faithcael. I have some Lumity art I did on it, and I'll do some art based on this story in the future. So don't hesitate! 
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> Now I hope you'll spend a good time reading this chapter! Again, thank you to JuliaCorvia and Ambenya for their beta reading!

“No Luz! You can’t go to class with me, I already told you!” Protested the green-haired witch, squeezing her school books against her chest while the human followed her in the hallways.

“But it would really help me! I’m new here, I need to learn more about your world and all this magic and familiar stuff! Please?” Pleaded Luz, joining her hands together in front of her face and giving the best puppy eyes she could muster. Nearly bumping into the witch who stopped right in front of a large door, the girl sighing heavily.

“Look, it’s not that I don’t want to. But familiars aren’t allowed in classrooms except during Beast Keeping lessons. And I doubt that the teacher will accept- “ started to explain the young witch, a bit exasperated, knowing perfectly that the human was way too stubborn to give up. But she couldn’t even finish her sentence, not seeing the professor coming toward them, interrupting her.

“Ahem.” Suddenly someone coughed. But Luz couldn’t see anyone, looking around her, it seemed that only Amity and her were in the corridors. Well, until she followed Amity’s stare to the ground, where a small… dog? With a horned skull and a bright red tie around the neck was standing, looking right at them.

“Oh. Mister King. Good morning.” Greeted the witch with a small polite smile, the usual mask she sported in front all of her teachers, the perfect student one.

“I might have overheard that your human wants to join us in my class? It’s not a bad idea. I’ll be more than happy to have more subjects… I mean, students, listening to me.” Declared the small demon, readjusting his tie, which was way too long for him. A high-pitched squeak left his mouth when Luz grabbed him suddenly to give him a big hug.

“Oh thank you so much!” She squealed while holding the professor, not thinking one second it could be impolite, because he was so cute after all! While Amity just looked at her appalled, not even daring to move or told her to stop. Fortunately, King was able to escape the death grip, with a frown, while he went back on the ground again, dusting himself.

“I will let this slip, for this time. But don’t you dare to try this again.” He declared with a huff, before walking toward the big wooden door of his class. He tried to push it, once, twice, with all his strength, yet, the huge door didn’t budge even a little. Taking pity on their poor professor, Amity just opened it to him, hoping it would let him forget about the hug accident. He thanked her with a nod and went inside the room, leaving them alone again.

“Mister King is our Magic and Demonic History teacher. He might give us strange lessons about how to steal pies or eat trash sometimes. But he knows a lot about the Boiling Isle history. You can count yourself lucky that he accepted you in his classroom. You better be on your best behavior there, alright?” Amity explained sternly, staring at Luz seriously, making the human understand that it was her only chance and she shouldn’t fuck this up.

The human just nodded, straightening a bit under all the expectations. Yet she couldn’t help herself to get a bit excited to learn more about this world. For once, history classes interested her, on Earth, she spent most of her time writing or drawing during those lessons. So, she quickly followed the witch and took a seat just beside her, at the front row, staying silent, but tapping her fingers on the desk in front of them, not able to contain her enthusiasm. Making Amity tick a bit, but she preferred to say nothing, hoping that Luz would stop once the lesson was about the start.

Soon enough, all the other students filled the classroom, chatting animatedly, even if a few odd looks were sent toward the human. And everyone started to stop their discussion when they saw their teacher struggling to climb on top of his desk. But he quickly succeeded and stood proudly in front of everyone, nodding satisfied when he saw that everybody was there.

“Alright, so, since today we have a special guest, before starting our lesson, can someone remind me of the different kinds of magic, and their place and function please?” He asked, taking a piece of chalk to start to draw a perfect pentacle on the black board behind him.

And as ever, Amity Blight was the perfect student, she couldn’t let this pass, it always could give her extra credit. So, she stood up, asking for the permission to talk, which was quickly granted.

“There’s eleven types of magic, one for each part of the pentagram. At the center, we find the base of everything, the common magic, like levitation spells or shield spells. Then, on the exterior of the star, there’s elemental magic, potion, plant, abomination and healing. And inside the star branches, there’s the bard, beast keeping, illusion, oracle and construction magics. Usually, witches know how to use common magic and are specialized in one or two kind of magic. The more kind of magic a witch knows, the more powerful they are. Only powerful witches can master all the magics, and the emperor is the only one known able to do this prowess in this decade. After school, every young witch is highly recommended to join a coven to develop their magic, but they can start to work in a specific field if they are talented enough.” Explained Amity swiftly, as if she knew the words by heart. Well, it wouldn’t surprise Luz if she truly did, since her summoner seemed to study every night.

“Very good Amity. Very good.” Affirmed the teacher, nodding acknowledgingly while he wrote symbols in each part of the pentagram, certainly following what Amity said. The girl sitting again in her place, satisfied with herself. It was common knowledge, but at least she didn’t forget anything. It wouldn’t have been serious if the straight A student she was did anything else than a perfect presentation.

“Well, I think Amity forgot to tell something, Mister King.” Smirked Boscha in the back of the class, the professor looking at her with a brow raised, suspicious. “She forgot to tell that some witches don’t know any kind of magic, even the common one, and I think Amity is the perfect example of this. Dare I say, she even might be the only example existing. I don’t even know if we can call her a witch if she doesn’t know how to do magic.” Snickered the cuegle, with a long, provocative grin sent toward Amity.

Luz could see her summoner tense and clench her teeth, but Amity said nothing, letting the pink haired girl laugh at her. And the human couldn’t take it. She couldn’t believe that even here, there were jerks trying to belittle others. She was way too used to this kind of bullying towards her in the human world, but she couldn’t stay silent now that she saw it happening and she wasn’t the victim of it. She had to act! She quickly stood up and sent a dark glare toward the three eyed teen.

“Hey, that’s not very nice! You don’t even know what you’re talking about, Amity is a real witch, she can do magic, otherwise I wouldn’t be there!” The human protested loudly, drawing all the eyes on her, while some of the students gasped, surprised to see someone stood up to Boscha and defended the half-a-witch like this.

“Look at that, the little familiar already barking to defend its master. How cute. Do you really think that you know more than me about magic, human? You’ve been there for less than a week. Don’t be ridiculous.” Scoffed the cuegle, not taken aback at all to be called out like that, on the contrary, she knew she had the upper hand there.

Luz was ready to talk back, to prove the girl wrong. This girl was so easy to decipher, she had the same kind of bullies at home after all. And she despised those kind of people, the ones who had to make others feel bad to assert dominance, to prove to everyone that they were better than everyone else, when it wasn’t truly the case. Clenching her fist, frowning, she opened her mouth, but she was stopped when she felt someone grab her wrist.

“Stop it, Luz. She’s not worth it. I don’t want you to get kicked out of the class for this.” Ordered Amity, not looking at her. But the human could see the sadness in the witch eyes, with a hint of frustration. She perfectly recognized this look, it was the same she arbored many times before, and she hated it. She felt powerless. But she couldn’t go against Amity order, she was right, it would worsen the situation if she continued. So, she sat back on the chair next to the witch, staying silent, trying to bite the bullet, especially when she heard the cuegle laugh at her and make a comment about “how the human pet was obedient at least”. Let’s say that the class was awfully long, Luz having to contain herself at every jab Boscha sent to Amity during the lessons. It was maddening. And she couldn’t help but wonder if Amity had to deal with this every day. No wonder she was this closed up.

When the bell rang, or should she say, screamed, she was able to breathe again. The lesson was really interesting, but she had to summon all the will she had to not stand up and strangle Boscha. She really hated violence, and she wasn’t one who searched to fight, but it was one thing to stay silent when people said nasty things to her, it was another when she had to see the same thing happening to someone she knew. Someone she wanted to befriend, someone who was her summoner. And as a familiar she had to defend this person. She was there for a reason after all.

That’s why, when she followed Amity to go out from the classroom, she squared up when her eyes landed on the pink-haired witch who was seemingly waiting for them. The other teen not even giving her a glance before making a beeline toward Amity, stopping right in front of her, blocking her way toward their next class.

“Hey, Half-a-witch, next time you better put a collar and a muzzle on your familiar. This… peasant, had no rights to talk to me the way it did. I know you’re the shame of this school, but I thought that even you could make a dirty human obey you. Don’t embarrass us more than you already do Blight.” Taunted the cuegle, clearly using her height difference with Amity to try to tower over her. But the other witch kept her head high, showing no fear, her golden eyes staring at her bitterly.

“Boscha, I swear if you-“ Started Amity with animosity in her voice, but she couldn’t continue, she was quickly met by Luz’s back. The human making her way between them, as if she was shielding Amity with her own body, despite the lack of danger other than Boscha venomous words.

“You can say everything you want about me if it makes you feel better, I don’t care. But don’t you dare insult Amity like this ever again. You are the one embarrassing this school. Look at you, you’re just a bully Boscha.” Fumed Luz, furious. She was just two inches taller than the cuegle, but she used that at her advantage, her frame making the other witch unable to come closer to Amity. There were no professors here, just the three of them, she wouldn’t let this pass this time. It needed to stop. Of course, Amity was certainly able to stand up for herself, but she knew beforehand that it wasn’t enough to stop someone like Boscha, she had already tried, way too much.

“And what do you think you can do against me? I’m not afraid of you. You’re just a weak human.” Retorted the witch with a snarl, looking disdainfully at Luz before crossing her arms in a challenging manner.

“I’ll show you what a “weak human” is capable of!” Barked Luz, clearly responding to the challenge. She was a reckless idiot, not even thinking about the fact that a witch could overpower her easily. She was just so enraged that she bit the bait without a second thought. Even when Amity tried to push her, to stop her from being so careless, Luz just put her arm in front of the smaller girl to cut her off in her attempt, while her stare was still locked on the cuegle harshly, refusing to back off.

It just made Boscha laugh loudly, not impressed at all, on the contrary, a long smirk making its way on her lips. The witch took a step forward, looking right at the human with her three eyes, an amused spark dancing in them.

“Alright, it’s a duel then. Meet me in the court at lunch, human. I’ll teach you some respect.” She replied with a menacing whisper, promising nothing good out of this duel. Before she quickly turned her back to them, head held high and prideful, as she made her way toward the next class, leaving Luz and Amity alone.

When Boscha turned around in a corner and she was out of sight, Amity totally lost it, pushing Luz forcefully, enough to make the human trip, tumbling forward a bit.

“Are you crazy?! What did you do?!” Shouted the green-haired witch, an angry and panicked look painting her face.

“What?! I couldn’t let her treat you like that! I had to do it!” Protested Luz, turning around to look at her summoner, gesturing wildly at her, hoping that the witch would understand her point and that she did this for her. It wasn’t in her nature to be a spectator and stay silent like this, whether Amity liked it or not.

“And you thought that dueling a witch was a great idea?! You’re going to get yourself killed! Please Titan gives me patience…” scolded Amity as she pinched the bridge of her nose, exasperated by the human's harsh and foolish behavior, already feeling a headache coming. She knew what Boscha was capable of and she was going to be merciless, this girl loved to humiliate people, Luz wasn’t the first to try to duel her. She had to make this stupid idea leave her familiar’s head.

“I’m not afraid of her! You don’t know what I’m capable of! I already had my fair share of bullies. Someone needs to make her shut it once and for all! Have you seen how she acted with you?” Argued the human, frustrated, her hands balling into fists. She couldn’t believe that Amity, the haughty witch she had seen during her first night at the Boiling Isles, was going to let this slide without saying anything. It was crazy! Being unable to do magic shouldn’t make Boscha have the right to treat her like this. And if Amity refused to act on it, she was going to do it. She couldn’t care less that she was going to fight against a witch, that she was clearly at disadvantage, she had to act!

“Luz! You’re going to ask her for pardon and forfeit. I don’t want you to fight against her. It’s for your own good.” Finally ordered Amity, taking Luz's shoulder in her hand to force the human to look directly at her, hoping that she would understand how serious the situation was. Luz knew nothing about their world, about their magic, and she already endangered herself two nights prior with the demon hunters. She couldn’t let this pass.

“I’m your familiar! It’s my duty to protect you, Amity! I’ll fight her and be your fearless champion. I won’t let her try to hurt you again like that. Otherwise, I don’t have my place here.” Swore Luz with her left hand above her heart, showing off the runes engraved on it. She was stubborn, and had way too much pride for this kind of thing. She was righteous and wanted to fight for what was right. And she knew that this duel was worth it if it meant that the cruel cuegle would leave her summoner alone. It was her duty, but in the end, she really wanted to do this and she hoped that it would prove to Amity that she didn’t care that she couldn’t do magic. She just wanted to be her friend.

“And it’s my role to protect you too! That’s why I refuse to let you fight her!” Snapped her summoner, her cheeks reddening due to anger, and a fluttering feeling in her chest. She was worried for the human, of course, it was the dumbest idea she could have, dueling Boscha was a suicide mission, but at the same time, seeing her this devoted, and protective... it definitely did something to her. Nobody ever cared this much about her, not even her own family. And they didn’t even know each other for more than a week! But she would be damned if she made it show. She refused to encourage her familiar for this stupid duel.

“Whether you like it or not, I’ll duel her Amity, you can’t stop me. Now, you better go to your next class, you’ll be late…” Declared the human, putting her hands in her short pockets, before turning her back to her summoner. The discussion was over, she already made her decision and nothing that the witch could say would make her change it. So, she preferred to end this pointless argument between them. She just wanted to get a bit of rest before her duel.

It left Amity speechless, looking at her familiar who had the guts to turn her back to her and disrespect her orders. Yet, she said it herself, Luz wasn’t her pet or her servant, she was her own person, she didn’t have to listen to her. But it was so frustrating, she couldn’t see how dumb and dangerous this was! And for what? For nothing! Amity was used to Boscha words by now. She couldn’t care less. Yes, it still stung a bit from time to time, but it wasn’t worth it!

For an instant, she wanted to follow Luz, to try to convince her once again. But she knew deep down that she wouldn’t be able to talk some sense into her thick head. She seemed way too stubborn for her own good. The only thing she could do was to be there during the duel and try her best to not let Luz get too beaten up… she maybe could ask Willow for some help if it turned too sourly… Yes. That was the best course of action. The bell suddenly screamed again, announcing the start of her second class. She was late. She was never late. She had to hurry up. She just wished with all her heart that everything would be alright.

_____________________________

When her anger started to recede, Luz was finally able to think a bit. Yes, she was clearly the underdog in this scenario, and she held little to no chances against a witch. She didn’t know at all what Boscha was capable of, neither which kind of magic she used. She couldn’t even plan ahead a real strategy! The only magic she has seen in her life was what the head teacher and Willow did to the demon hunters… it was merely a glimpse.

Yet, she refused to give reason to the cuegle by forfeiting. It would only prove to her that she could still bully Amity unpunished. She has to do something, anything, that would calm down this behavior! So, even when she totally understood why Amity was worried, even when she held no chances against a witch, she believed that if she was motivated enough, it would change something. Anything.

That’s why when she heard the school bell scream, indicating it was noon, the lunch break, she dashed toward the court, refusing to let anybody stop her. She was obstinate, and she was certain it would pay off one way or another!

When she was finally outside, in the school backyard, she saw that Boscha and all her gang was already there, waiting for her. Squaring up, her hands balled into fists, she sent a nasty glare toward the pink haired witch, who only snickered at her.

“I must admit, you have some guts showing up human. I didn’t think you would.” She taunted with a scoff, looking at her nails, while all of her little group laughed, following her lead, making Luz roll her eyes at how pathetic it was. It had been a long time since she had been affected by mocking laughter. She couldn’t care less anymore.

“No me perdería la ocasión de hacer que una perra se calle la boca.“ Luz retorted bitterly, a smirk raising the corner of her lips when she saw the confused face of her opponent, eyebrow quirked, unaware at how vulgar the human had been toward her. Otherwise, someone as proud as Boscha would have lost her mind over this simple thing. And she wouldn’t dare to try to anger the teen even more that she already was. It wouldn’t work in her favor.

That’s when she saw an easily recognizable tint of green in the forming crowd around them. Amity was there, accompanied by Willow and Gus. Her worries could easily be seen on her face while she looked around, searching for her familiar. But when their eyes met, the cold disapproving glare that her summoner sent her made her shiver. If she was honest, she wasn’t afraid at all of Boscha. No. The real danger was certainly Amity’s anger. She could already feel it, her piercing stare making her wish that she didn’t took such a stupid decision. But she stood her ground! She was going to fight against Boscha! That’s why she only sent a small smile toward her, waving at the trio enthusiastically. Gus responded joyfully at her, before a side glance from Willow and Amity, who were worried about the familiar’s dumb mistake, made him stop.

Sighing, Luz finally straightened up, looking right at her opponent, coming face to face with the pink haired witch, ready to throw hands, but refusing to give the first hit. She did this to defend her summoner's honor! Not to let her anger get the better of her. Yet Boscha just looked at her from head to toes with a judgmental stare and a grimace, swatting the human a few feet away with just a push on her chest. Quickly regaining her balance, Luz shoots a confused glare toward Boscha, who only searched for something in her cloak. She took out a small vial of a yellow liquid, certainly a potion, and without batting an eyelash, she spilled its contents on the ground between them, the liquid already bubbling and fuming against the grass, making it melt while it formed a strange mud.

Luz took a few cautious steps away from this, not knowing what this was supposed to do. The only thing that she knew was that, considering the smirk on Boscha's face, it wouldn’t be anything good. Suddenly the witch formed a magic circle in the air, a soft orange glow coming from it while she pointed her finger toward the mess the potion created on the ground.

A somewhat humanoid shape started to form, composed of the goo that was created by the potion, the form, once it stopped to shift, was a solid 6 feet and a half, way taller than Luz herself. The mud on it started to dry to create a kind of crust, cracking here and there to let a soft yellow glow shine. The human looked at the thing in front of her in awe. She knew that she should be afraid and ready to fight, but she was just a star eyed child when she saw a magic demonstration as this one. She couldn’t help herself. It was so new and mind blowing! Yet, she was cut off in her awestruck staring by a snicker from the witch in front of her.

“You really thought I would dirty my hands by fighting by myself against you, human? It’s a little trick I learned two years ago, a golem forging potion. Not bad uh? Let’s see if you can handle this.” Bragged the cuegle with a proud smirk.

Hearing this, Amity didn’t know if the human was lucky or not. It might have been better than being burned alive, Boscha having some affinity with fire elemental magic. She, herself, already saw people being badly burnt after challenging or disrespecting her, or even during Grudgby match. And while she knew that the cuegle wasn’t good at all at summoning Abominations, she was kind of a prodigy in potion making, so of course she would have found an alternative to create her own minion. That’s why she knew that the golem in front of her familiar was more than perfect, and she feared for her familiar. There were no chances that Luz could fight this after all.

A gasp suddenly left her lips when she saw the alchemical monster move toward the human with a long groan. The creation being unexpectedly fast for something so big. Taken by surprise, Luz tried to move away from its path, but one of its huge hands grabbed her by the wrist and with a swift movement, it lifted her easily and threw her away strongly, as if the girl was a rag doll.

Her body flew across the court, making a few students move away, while she harshly fell on the ground. The impact was so violent that Luz felt a dull pain starting to spread in all her body and her breath got taken away, getting the wind knocked out her. Yet, she tried to get back up on shaking limbs, trying to regain her breath while coughing forcefully. However, she didn’t have time to recover from the blow, she heard Amity scream her name and when she looked up, she knew she had to act, the golem was already moving toward her again.

Rolling on the ground to not get hit again, she let a sigh escape her lips, relieved that she avoided the huge feet of the creature which collided on the ground in hope to crush her under it. Getting quickly on her feet again, she locked her eyes on Boscha, glaring darkly at her, while the cuegle seemed to have the time of her life at humiliating her in front of everybody. Luz suddenly bolted toward her fiercely, ready to show her how a human really fought! No little magic trick.

Yet, she didn’t even have time to reach the three-eyed witch that a powerful punch in her stomach stopped her dead in her tracks. She heard something crack and her body was paralyzed for a second by the pain while she lamely fell on the ground on her knees, the golem in between her and Boscha, protecting its creator. Feeling bile rise in her throat after the hit, she hugged herself with her arms, trying to keep what was in her stomach at its place, a pained grunt making its way between her clenched teeth.

“Oh, come on, you make this too easy, I’m starting to get bored.” Grunted Boscha, looking sternly at her with a scowl, crossing her arms. Not even feeling guilty despite seeing the human curled due to pain in front of her. While Amity tried to make her way through the crowd, joining Luz in the middle of the circle made by the students who came to see the duel.

“Stop it, Luz! You see, you can’t fight against a witch! You did what you could, isn’t that enough for you?” She declared, worried about taking over all of her features, while she looked at her familiar whose face was scrunched in pain.

“Don’t stay here…” Heaved Luz between two ragged breaths, forcing herself to stand up again, despite all her body shaking. Even if she knew that Amity was right, she refused to give up now. Something, in her guts, told her to not give up and continue. It wasn’t even arrogance, she didn’t care about that, she was just stubborn and needed to prove a point, to do what was right. Whether she would end up even more injured or not wasn’t important. She had nothing else to lose after all. She just sends a nasty glare toward Boscha, who was still hiding behind her invocation. And she suddenly grunted in pain when Amity grabbed her arm to stop her to do whatever she planned.

“What are you thinking about?! I told you to stop!” Protested her summoner, her voice cracking up due to all the emotions swirling up in her chest. She refused to see the human get even more hurt than she was already. And she couldn’t help but hating herself to not be able to fight her own battle, to make everything stop. If only she was able to go up against Boscha! Yet, she perfectly knew that, even if she had way more knowledge about magic than Boscha, she couldn’t compete against her magic.

“What? You care about me?” Teased Luz with a small grin making its way on her lips when she looked at Amity’s wet eyes. At least, she still had the force to do this. And she couldn’t help but to feel a bit satisfied to see someone caring enough about her like this. Yet, it wasn’t enough to make her back off. On the contrary, it gave her even more reasons to protect her summoner against this bully.

“You’re so stupid!” Squeaked the green-haired witch, pushing Luz away, making the human grunt a bit due to the aching pain in her body. Yet she couldn’t help but to chuckle a bit at seeing Amity embarrassed like this. It only proved to her that she was on the right path to become her friend at least!

Boscha only rolled her eyes, she didn’t have time for this, and she had no pity at all. She was going to wreck her classmate’s familiar if it didn’t start to quiver in front of her. Snapping her finger, she told something to one of her minions, the one with black and grey curled hair, and the girl quickly left the court, coming back a couple of minutes later with something in her arms, giving it to the cuegle who seemed satisfied.

“Alright loser. I’ll give you two options. Either, you apologize for your inappropriate behavior toward me and beg for my forgiveness. Or, you take this and you try to make this duel interesting.” Suggested the cuegle with a sneer, throwing a metallic sword at Luz’s feet. It seemed to be one of the swords that the decorative armors in the school held. But it still was heavy and sharp, enough to make damages if used correctly. And upon seeing the human surprised expression, Boscha only quirked an eyebrow, pressing her. “Isn’t it how you humans fight? Using gadgets like this one?” She taunted, making the human sigh heavily. Did she really think humans still lived in the Middle Ages? Well, she wasn’t surprised, after all, when she talked with Gus, the boy thought that humans had gills. So, this was an improvement at least.

Without thinking twice, she took the sword in her hands, and she suddenly felt a warm electric current make its way in all her body, easing the pain. It was… rather strange. But she didn’t complain. She just raised the sword, feeling as if the heavy steel was weightless.

“No, Luz!” Objected Amity, refusing to let her familiar fight even more. Trying one last time to reason the other girl. Even with a sword, Luz wouldn’t stand a chance against Boscha magic. But it only made the human clench her teeth and huff.

“Look Amity, I can’t go back to my realm. And if I have to stay here, then I’ll live as I want to. And I refuse to let bullies like Boscha try to hurt me or my friends ever again.” Declared Luz, as motivated as possible after all of this. Her vigor renewed. She took a fighting stance, not even noticing how her familiar runes started to glow with a light blue color. But everybody else looking at the duel did.

Satisfied to see that the human wasn’t giving up so easily, Boscha ordered her golem to attack her once again, the alchemical creature making its way toward Luz, both arms raised, ready to hammer her down. But with a swift movement, Luz dodged the attack, and once again when the golem tried to hit her with another punch when it turned back toward her. A strange energy coursed through her veins, making her lighter and faster in her movement, the pain from before totally forgotten. She didn’t really understand this, but she just embraced it, listening to her instinct, her body moving on its own accord. She suddenly saw an opening, and without thinking about it, her arm moved on its own, striking. The sword flew toward the creature's chest, as if it was an extension of her own arm, slicing the golem part to part. The yellow glow emanating from it dying while all the earth and mud composing it fell on the ground, making the humanoid form disappear. Dust particles floating in the air being the only remaining presence of the golem.

Everybody gasped at this, surprised that the human was able to defeat such a monster so quickly. Yet, Luz hasn’t said her last word, and she swiftly made her way toward Boscha. The witch, panicking, started to draw a magic circle in the air, a ball of fire forming in her hand. But she hadn’t time to throw it, the human was just in front of her and she already struck, way too quickly for anyone to see, sinking the dull pommel of the sword in the witch's abdomen. Just a cough left Boscha lips, before she fell limply in Luz’s arms, being knocked out after such a hit.

Everyone present was silent, nobody would have thought that a human would be able to defeat a witch, especially a powerful witch as Boscha. But the proof was right here, the pink-haired witch not responding at all, while the human made her lay softly on the ground. And slowly, all the students started to applaud, blown away by this prowess. Gus being the first one to clap his hands, cheering Luz loudly, and soon enough, everybody else followed him.

The familiar only smiled when she heard everyone acclaiming her, but her smile only grew wider when she saw Amity running toward her, and without any restraint, her arms flew around her familiar neck, taking Luz aback for a second, making her drop the sword on the ground, the glow of her runes disappearing slowly.

“You’re crazy Luz…” Amity grumbled softly next to her ear, but she couldn’t help showing how reassured she was that Luz was okay when she had feared the worst. It hadn’t been more than a week, but her bond between her and her familiar had started to grow, despite everything that happened and the circumstances. She was able to feel it right now.

“Eh… But I won.” Mumbled the human proudly, suddenly starting to get extremely tired, all the pain she had felt before coming back in full force. Her head spinning for a second, before everything went black once again. Her body falling limply against Amity’s own, nearly crushing the smaller witch under her dead weight if it wasn’t for Willow and Gus who quickly helped her.

She looked with worry at the two witches who used a levitation spell on the human and Boscha, leading them to the infirmary, quickly following them. She didn’t care about Boscha at all, but she wanted to be sure that Luz was okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Luz with a sword? Luz with a sword. I love girls with swords and I still can't get over her fighting with her fake sword in the episode 2 xD So I had to do it! Also yeah, I had to make her swear in spanish. She's 18 in this story, I had to give her this right! xD
> 
> Also, sorry for those who already knows the anime, this chapter was the most inspired from it, but I hope you enjoyed it anyways. :) 
> 
> See you for the next chapter!
> 
> My social medias :
> 
> Tumblr : Faithcaelum_writing  
> Twitter : @Faithcaelum  
> Instagram : @Faithcael
> 
> Art for chapter 4 commissioned, made by @Shahsu19 on Twitter!


	5. When a reward is due for the fearless ones.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there! 
> 
> Sorry for the delay for this chapter, I didn't had as much time as I would have liked to work on this chapter. And it turned out to be longer than anticipated. Also, the next chapter might take a bit longer too, since it will be pretty huge (10k words at least if I don't decide to cut it in half).  
> But I hope you'll like this chapter anyways! :D 
> 
> Two more characters introduced, more world building and fluff and bonding moments (I haven't planned for this at all, but I can't even control the characters in my own story, it's sad xD Guys! It's too soon! Come on! It's a slow burn :c ) 
> 
> Thanks to JuliaCorvia and Ambenya for the beta-reading! ^^ please go check their writing too on their AO3 account! JuliaCorvia is working on a fic where Amity ends up in the Human Realm with Luz, and Ambenya did awesome fluffy one shots! 
> 
> Thank you again for your unwavering support everybody <3

A soft light started to stir her awake, out of a dreamless slumber. But Luz refused to wake up just yet, it had been _days_ since she had slept so well. The sheets and cushions were so soft, hugging her sore frame perfectly. There was a sweet and refreshing floral scent, familiar, reassuring, hanging in the air, sticking to the fabric, making her want to fall asleep again and lose herself in the warmness of her surroundings. She didn’t even notice that, during her sleep, she had drooled a bit on the pillow, her saliva now dried on the side of her cheek. No, she had zero desire to be torn off from this moment, she just pressed a face a bit more in the blanket, trying to block the morning light coming from the window.

Yet, a few minutes later, the sound of knocking on the wooden door, and the same door being opened, forced her to open her eyes and sit up with a yawn. She wasn’t that surprised to see her surroundings, it was Amity’s room, the sight starting to get usual for her, being welcomed by the antique bedroom each morning. What was new was that she wasn’t on the floor, in her makeshift bed, she was on a real bed, Amity’s bed. No wonder why she slept so well, she always thought that this bed might be comfy by the look of it. But, why was she here? Where was Amity?

She quickly got her answer when she tried to move her legs and was unable to. Looking down, she saw the green haired witch, sitting on a chair across the bed, her waist resting on the blanket, on her legs. Luz couldn’t help but feel a small smile raise the corner of her lips. She looked so peaceful. And despite sleeping together in the same room, she had never seen her summoner asleep before. It was a rare sight, her face so relaxed, the usual scowl and furrowed brows gone, a soft expression taking over all her usual closed up features.

It’s only when she heard footsteps inside the room that she remembered what woke her up. And when she looked toward the entrance, she was met with an unfamiliar face. An older brunette was standing there, a tray in hands, her hazel eyes finally meeting Luz’s brown ones.

“Oh. You’re awake.” The girl stated, surprised. The words being awfully familiar, making her remember her first night here, in this same room. But the warm smile that the brunette sent her immediately put her at ease contrary to the panic she felt this fateful night.

“Oh. Eh… yeah. Do you want to talk to Amity now or…?” Hesitated Luz, gesturing toward the sleeping witch, as if to ask if she needed to wake her up or not. Truly, the human wanted to let the other teen sleep a bit more, she seemed to need it, but at the same time, she needed some answers, what happened that led her to sleep in Amity’s bed, the witch asleep at her side? She had difficulties remembering what happened before falling asleep if she was honest.

“Oh no, you don’t need to wake her up. I was here to check on you and give little Blight a proper breakfast. She didn’t really leave your side when you were sleeping. She deserves to rest a bit.” the other witch explained softly, lowering her voice to not wake the sleeping witch. She came toward them, putting the tray, full of different food, on the bedside table.

Yet, the older girl saw the confused expression the human arbored, and she chuckled a bit at this, hovering toward Luz with a small smirk.

“Luz, you’ve been asleep for two months.” She declared, a serious and somber expression suddenly making its way on her face.

“W-What?!” Exclaimed Luz with a squeaky voice, her face turning pale at the new, while her stomach did a backflip, making her feeling sick. The older witch couldn’t contain her laugh when she saw her shocked expression, trying to keep it low for Amity’s sake.

“I’m just messing with you. You only slept for two days.” Quickly explained the brunette, her smile not leaving her face when she saw the reassured look on the familiar who put her hand on her heart, trying to slow its beating after the initial shock. “I’m Viney, Hexside’s nurse, by the way. I took care of you after your fight with Boscha.” Clarified the witch, her voice having this warm tone that put Luz at ease once again.

That’s right, she fought against Boscha, and she won! But she doesn’t remember anything after putting the cuegle down, just Amity’s reassured face and… black. She must have passed out, she took some violent blows after all. She inhaled deeply in understanding, before sending a sheepish smile to the nurse, her hand shyly rubbing her neck.

“Well… thank you then.” She replied, grateful that someone took care of her after this, and in a way, she was certain that it was thanks to Viney that she didn’t feel like dying right now. She couldn’t help but shudder, remembering the pain that took over all her body during the duel.

“No problems, I just did my job. But next time, don’t overdo yourself. I can repair broken ribs and internal bleeding easily, but whatever you did back there put a real stress on your body. We had to use an expensive healing elixir for you to wake up. Otherwise, those two months being asleep wouldn’t have been a joke.” Scolded Viney, hands on her hips, making Luz feel as if she was a little girl reprimanded by her mom once again. She shamefully looked at her hands, clenching her jaw. Broken ribs and internal bleeding? Seriously? Was it that much? Maybe Amity was right… even if she won, she shouldn’t have provoked Boscha like that… yet, she couldn’t force herself to regret it, she just hoped it would stop the cuegle from messing with them again.

She broke out of her thoughts when Viney gestured toward her, presenting her hand, as if she waited for Luz to give her something.

“Give me your hand for a second, I need to check if everything is good with you before leaving.” She explained with a reassuring smile, the human not thinking twice before presenting her left hand where the runes were engraved, the witch swiftly took her wrist in her own hand, while the other traced a soft blue magic circle around it.

At this, the familiar once again felt a wave of warm electricity take over her body, making its way into her veins. And she recognized it being magic, she started to get accustomed to this feeling, yet it was still surprising, an alien sensation for her human body, making her shiver a bit.

Viney nodded a few times, letting the circle of magic move along all her body, as if it was scanning the human, before she let a satisfied smile lift the corner of her lips.

“Seems like you’re good as new! It’s good that humans and witches don't have a lot of anatomical differences. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have known what to do with you to be honest.” She chuckled lowly, before letting the human’s hand go, the magic circle vanishing from existence. But instead of leaving, Viney seemed to get lost in her thoughts for a couple of seconds, before staring perplexed at the human. “Hm… I guess it’s normal that you don’t have any magic bile sack on your heart, humans don’t use magic. But is it normal that you only have one stomach? Because if not, it would be a problem.” She finally asked with a raised eyebrow, while Luz's eyes went wide at the question.

“One stomach? Yes, humans have only one stomach! Why? Witches don't?” The human wondered, totally puzzled, putting a hand on her own abdomen. And suddenly she had way too many questions about what kind of differences there really was between witches and humans.

“Well, yes, we have to properly digest demons’ toxins after all. If I were you, I would avoid eating demon related food then.” The nurses responded, shrugging, before starting to leave, stopping at the doorstep. “See you later Luz. By the way, Puddles is impatient to see you again! She really liked you!” The nurses added with a warm smile, waving at the human before leaving, closing the door softly behind her.

Taken aback, Luz wondered for a second how Viney knew that she spent some time with the griffin a few days prior, but, unable to find a proper answer by herself, she preferred to drop it. Sighing deeply, she let herself lay down on the bed again, her eyes lowering toward the green-haired witch still profoundly asleep. now that Viney pointed it out, she could see the bags under her closed eyes, proving that her summoner didn’t really have a lot of rest lately. She felt awfully bad for this, putting so much worry on Amity’s mind didn’t feel right, even if she fought for her sake. But in a way, she was glad that the witch seemed to care for her, at least, enough to look out for her and lend her the bed.

Smiling softly, she couldn’t help herself, she let one of her hand softly brush a lock of hair behind her pointed ear. The same ear twitched just a bit at this, and Luz had to restrain a squeal at how cute it was. She had quickly learned that, contrary to human ears, witches’ ears were pretty expressive, but she clearly didn’t expect this! And she didn’t expect Amity’s hair to be this soft. Not knowing the notion of personal space and being someone with way too much affection to give, she started to thread gently her fingers through the mint strands, relishing in the softness of the locks against her skin.

Yet, when she felt the witch lay more into her touch, her tired eyes fluttering open, she quickly put her hand at her side again, not wanting to get caught invading her summoner’s personal space like this when she was asleep. It wasn’t right of her. And something told her that it would upset Amity. 

The witch slowly woke up with a soft groan, going back into her sitting position, before looking toward Luz, and the human saw the golden eyes go wide open, and a relieved smile creeping on her summoner pink lips. A smile she couldn’t help herself but reciprocate softly. Still, it took only a couple of seconds for a scowl to take place on Amity’s face, her usual temper coming back in full force.

“You’re such an idiot!” The witch snapped suddenly, crossing her arms in front of her chest with a disapproving glare. But it only made the familiar tense and chuckle nervously.

“I’m sorry it went this way… but at least… Boscha won’t bother you anymore?” Tried the human with a forced smile, taking a handful of the silky sheets anxiously in her hands, playing with it under the cold golden eyes staring at her.

“… I hope so.” Amity finally sighed, relaxing visibly, while she massaged her temples, making Luz grimace a bit, wondering if her summoner had a migraine due to the notable lack of sleep. “You could have told me that you were an epeeist back in your realm you know…? I still can’t believe that you managed to beat Boscha.” She simply stated while the corner of her lips lifts slightly in a lopsided smile. She didn’t really want to show it, because this idiot put herself in such a dangerous situation without listening to her, but she was pretty proud of the girl, and really touched that she stood up for her like this.

“I…uh… I never held a sword in my life before this fight.” Admitted Luz, confused, it was true that once she had the sword in her hands, it felt like she _knew_ how to use it, how to move with it, how to attack with it. But she was certain that it wasn’t something she learned in the human realm. “I used to play with a replica of the diamond sword from Minecraft when I was younger, but that’s it. Ahah.” She added with a small snicker, remembering all the stupid and innocent adventures she had with this sword as a child.

She was met by a confused expression on the witch's face, and she remembered that, in this Realm, it was unlikely that they heard about video games.

“It’s not important, it was just a toy. I never fought with a sword, that’s the most important. I thought it was a magic sword or I don’t know? I felt magic invading all my body when I touched it!” She clarified, while it made Amity scrunch her brows in a thoughtful manner.

And after a long silence, the witch certainly thinking about this strange event, she saw a flash of insight make its way in the yellow orbs, the pink lips separating just a bit to let a breath pass through it.

“It’s not unheard of that certain familiars gain… capacities, when they are linked to a witch since their body holds magic. Like, a black cat can start to talk, or even breath fire. But I never heard about a familiar that would know how to sword fight thanks to this… well, it’s not like there are a lot of other human familiars anyways.” Explained her summoner, a hand under her chin, while Luz stared at her with great attention. She loved learning more about this world, and she couldn’t help herself but feel pretty excited to have some sort of powers! Well, she never thought about being a badass epeeist, if she used magic, she would have taken something like controlling the elements or flying, but it was pretty rad! She was impatient to test this theory out!

“It might be why you… slept so much. Your body isn’t used to magic, so it put too much stress on it and it stopped working to avoid damaging itself even more. It happens to young witches when they are not used to their power yet. Magic is like… a muscle, that becomes stronger the more you use it.” She continued, an imperceptible shiver taking over her when she remembered how many times it happened to her when her parents, and Lilith, tried to train her when she was younger. But, even if a slight frown made its way on her eyebrows, she tried to keep a straight face, refusing to show how upsetting it was for her.

Fortunately, Luz seemed way too engrossed in the explanations to notice that something was off with her. No, the human's eyes were full of stars, and she watched her with such an intensity, leaning toward her, their faces pretty close, hanging on every word she said, and she couldn’t help but feel her cheeks warm a bit due to all the attention Luz gave her.

“That’s… awesome! Does it mean that I will be able to use this power as much as I want without passing out if I train enough? Joder, sí! Boscha better behave!” The human suddenly burst happily, shaking one of her fists in the air, always way too demonstrative of her emotions. Something that Amity had difficulties to get adapted to, after all, she was raised in a family who thought that showing emotions was a weakness. But when she saw the human, beaming brightly like this, and so motivated, she couldn’t understand how this was a weakness. On the contrary.

“Well, since I can’t use my magic, it’s good to know that it can benefit someone else at least.” She stated, offering a bittersweet smile at Luz. She was frustrated, really, that even a human could, one way or another, use some magic like this, and that she wasn’t able to. But it made her happy in a way that, at least, it seemed to help her familiar adapt to this new life, offering her a lot of possibilities and some objectives.

Abruptly, a yelp left her lips when Luz took both of her hands inside her own, and Amity took a second to think about how much bigger the tanned hands were compared to hers. But the thought quickly left her mind when she locked her eyes into the two brown orbs, full of resolve, the other girl being extremely serious all of sudden.

“I might not know a lot about magic and how it works. But if me, your familiar, can use a bit of your magic, it must mean that you’re able to, too! Don’t give up on this. And don’t let other people tell you what you can do or not! Boscha is just a dumb bully. You summoned me, right? You put these runes on my hand. You are able to use magic! Otherwise, I wouldn’t be there, at your side.” Affirmed Luz, tightening her grip on the witch's hands, refusing to look anywhere else than into Amity’s eyes.

For a moment, Amity felt a lump in her throat, totally taken aback. She couldn’t believe that someone she barely knew put way more faith in her than any person ever did in her life. Not even her own parents. She clenched her teeth, breathing in deeply, her ears lowering while she tried to avoid Luz’s intense gaze. It was… nice, to know that someone still believed in her, but it only put her in front of her own problems, and she was, once again, afraid of deceiving someone, as she deceived everyone before. That’s why she just preferred to kill any hope the human held concerning her. Letting the human hands go she backed off a bit to put some distance between them.

“I wish you were right Luz. But I tried for years and nothing changed. I just prefer to… stop thinking about it. It’s no use. I’m just torturing myself at this point. But… thanks.” She admitted, offering a small sad smile to her familiar who seemed pretty bummed by this, maybe more than her. She preferred to go, to avoid her problems, as always. So, she started to stand up, before Luz took her wrist, stopping her.

“Viney, the nurse, she brought you breakfast. And she told me that you looked after me during these two days… you should try to rest a bit, you look tired… I can leave you your bed again.” Offered the human quietly, a bit uneasy after such an exchange, but her tone held something warm in it. “Thank you by the way…” She added with a sheepish smile, not able to maintain eye contact, ready to leave the bed and go back to her own sleeping place in the makeshift bed. But it was Amity’s turn to stop her.

“It’s okay. It was nothing, really. Viney was the one who did everything to heal you.” Reassured the witch, it was normal after all, Luz was her familiar, she had to take care of her, and even more, after what the human did for her, she wanted to take care of her. But to be honest, during these two days, she didn’t do a lot, she just waited for the human to wake up, lending her the bed to make her comfortable, wiping her forehead when the pain made her sweaty, and checking if the wounds she had to make sure they were healing correctly, without trying to be too invasive. Not much, really. So, she tried to brush it off.

“You are the one who needs to rest, we’re going out tomorrow. You can stay here, and eat what Viney brought, you haven’t eaten in two whole days, you must be hungry. I have things to do anyways.” She declared, already leaving, but she stopped right at the doorstep, looking back at the human, who just stared at her, and she quickly averted her eyes. “Later Luz.” She added before closing the door and stayed there, in the corridors, sighing deeply. It was terrible… she started to appreciate the human company that was for sure, but why was it always this awkward between them? She never knew what to think, where to stand, and just, act naturally toward so much kindness. It was not unwelcome but it still was pretty nerve wracking for her. Relaxing and letting her shoulders drop, she headed toward the library to try to get some work done. It was pretty crazy to see how much school work could be accumulated in only two days! But being the only witch at Hexside unable to use magic forced her to work twice harder than anyone else. That, and of course, her parents, who would be really displeased if they learned that she had anything else than an “A” in a class. She had work she had to do.

_____________________________

The next day was a free day. Even if Amity usually spent all of her free days studying or reading, she wanted to break her routine. Luz deserved it after all. That’s why she was actually fighting to try to wake up the girl, who clearly wasn’t a morning person. The human was trying to keep the blanket of her makeshift bed over her head to block the sunlight while Amity tugged at it.

“Five more minutes please! I had an awesome dream! I want to continue it!” Protested Luz, wailing, making her summoner roll her eyes at the childish display. She just wanted to yell at the human and maybe even try to use magic on her, at least then, the explosion which would come with the attempt would certainly wake her up. But she had to remind herself that the same human, with her current lack of maturity, was the one who fought for her and showed her more compassion than anyone else in her life.

“Come on Luz. You already slept for two whole days! Don’t act like a child!” She retorted, not ready to give up that easily. It was for the better if they left now, usually Bonesborough’s downtown was full of people and pickpockets during the middle of the day. Something that her parents fought tooth and nail to keep at bay, without really succeeding even with the help of the emperor guards. No, it was for the best if they left now, it was way calmer in the morning.

At this Luz grumbled as her only response, tugging even more at the blanket, knowing that, even if she was still under the sleep effects, she had way more strength than the witch. And Amity perfectly knew that she wouldn’t manage to make the human get up with this method due to this. So, she just let go of her grip on the cover, letting the other girl wrap herself in it even more.

She let her enjoy a few seconds of calm, deciding to use another tactic. She looked at her nails painted in black, looking disinterested, before walking toward the door, letting the human think that she had won this stupid battle.

“Well, it looks like I’m going alone to the market place to see all these boring magical trinkets and strange creatures then. I’ll show you all of it next time I guess.” The witch declared, indifferent, perfectly knowing that she was playing with the human curiosity and amazement toward their realm at this point.

As expected, she quickly saw a tuft of brown hair make its way out of the cover and two shining brown eyes look at her, nearly pleading. A knowing smile making its way on Amity’s lips at this.

“Magic you said…?” Repeated the familiar, every trace of sleep on her face suddenly gone. The word having picked her interest, making her forget everything about her dream and going back to sleep.

The witch couldn’t help herself, letting out a laugh when she saw the disheveled brown hair, sticking out everywhere, amplifying the usual cowlicks she had on her pixie cut. The girl looked so innocent, no sign of the fierce fury she showed when she fought against Boscha a few days prior.

“Yes. Get ready, I’ll be waiting for you at the stable.” She stated, savoring her victory, before leaving the room to let the human have a bit of intimacy to prepare herself. Well, even if said human seemed to have absolutely no decency nor modesty. She still remembered the huge embarrassment the first time she had to yell at her when the girl changed as if she wasn’t there, pointing at the adjacent bathroom. Luz was nice, really, but her lack of education and her weird antics drove her truly crazy sometimes.

_____________________________

After waiting a solid twenty minutes, Amity was really ready to leave the school grounds to go to the market place alone. She wondered if the human had the audacity to go back to sleep or not, but she sighed, relieved, when she saw Luz running toward her, waving her arm energetically. Rapidly joining her in front of the stable.

“Hey! Sorry for the wait. I took a shower and then I lost myself in the hallways, but I’m all ready now!” She quickly explained with a small embarrassed smile. Her hair still wet from her shower, the water droplets wetting the collar of her shirt, but she seemed to not mind it at all.

Amity just shook her head, exasperated, it had been more than a week now and the human still lost herself in the school on a regular basis, and she was certain that she would get a cold because she carelessly went outside with her wet hair. But she let this slide, as she went back inside the stable to search for something.

It took only a few seconds, but when Luz saw her coming back with nothing less than a frickin’ unicorn! She felt like a child again! The Boiling Isles had witches, dragons, and griffins, of course they had to have unicorns!

The steed had an immaculate white coat, with a wavy pink mane and a long horn in the middle of its forehead. And it was already prepared with a saddle and a bit, the reins held in Amity’s hands. It was as if her little girl dreams came true! She couldn’t restrain an excited squeal, which made the witch smile, always happy to see the human enjoy so much this kind of little thing that was everyday life for her.

And then, Luz did the thing that she shouldn’t do, of course, as always. She raised her hand, ready to pet the unicorn muzzle, star eyed.

The witch had just enough time, and incredible reflexes. She grabbed the human wrist to move the hand away before the beast had time to chomp off the limb. Luz looked with horror the huge maw of the animal, with sharp fangs, slamming powerfully just in front of her, blood injected eyes glaring at her. Yes! Of course! Everything on this Isles was a twisted horrific version of their legends! Even the unicorns!

“W-Wow… And now all my little girl dreams are shattered. I must say goodbye to the cute and fluffy unicorns and their rainbows.” Stated Luz with a wavering voice, still appalled by what happened, her hand shaking in the witch grip.

“Yes. We don’t have any “rainbows” here, it’s painbows and it turns your inside out when you look at one. And never disrespect a unicorn by touching them without their consent. Or next time I will not be here to save your hand.” Explained Amity with a sigh, letting go of her familiar’s hand before taking something out of her small leather purse. It looked like some sort of small caramelized apple, and she presented it to the animal which gratefully ate it with an appreciative noise, coming back to its normal state, no longer showing its fangs.

“So… Have you ever ridden before?” She asked the human, while she started to make the last adjustment on the saddle, taking the reins, she swiftly hopped on the animal back, as if she had done it one hundredth time. And she looked expectantly at her familiar, waiting for the other girl to join her.

Actually, Luz never had the chance to ride before, even if when she was younger, she literally harassed her mother to do pony rides, but they never really had the money for this kind of thing. So, she was completely lost, staring at the witch a few seconds without saying anything. Well, it shouldn’t be that complicated, right? Right!

“Never tried, but I was born ready!” She replied with enthusiasm. It was an important moment! She would be able to brag about being the first human riding a unicorn after all! That’s why she took the saddle firmly in her hands and jumped on the back of the steed, nowhere as gracefully as Amity did, but at least, she was on it! Her belly pressed against the saddle part behind the witch, she crawled to get a sitting position, making her summoner stifle a laugh at how ridiculous she looked like. But so far it didn’t seem to upset the unicorn. Those animals had a bad temper, but they were strong enough to carry two people and accept it without trying to make their rider fall.

“You better hold on.” Amity warned her, not really waiting for the human to lock her legs against the animal flank correctly or to grip on the back of the saddle before starting to make the unicorn move forward.

Not really wanting to lose any more time than they did already, she made the steed start to trot, and she heard the girl behind her yelp, before two arms suddenly hugged her frame, and she nearly lost her balance at this, her eyes going wide at the surprise. Due to the animal's pace, Luz held her firmly, her waist rubbing against the witch's back, forehead pressed against the base of her neck, afraid to fall if she let go of her grip. the close proximity, the warm breath against her skin, and the cold-water droplets still leaking from the human's wet hair made her shiver and a huge blush crept on her pale cheeks. Amity wasn’t used at all to physical contact like this, actually, it had been pretty rare for her, her parents were never affectionate, her siblings always preferred to mess with her, and it wasn’t like she had anyone else in her life close enough to share this kind of proximity before. This one time when she hugged her familiar after her duel against Boscha had only been in the spur of the moment, due to how worried she had been. She didn’t even think about it! It was totally different there! Yet, the animal still continued to trot and she was starting to freak out, tensing and gripping the reins harder.

“I- I never… I never told you to hold onto me!” She protested abruptly, elbowing Luz a bit to make her loosen her grip. Her heart beating way harder than it should be and her face refused to cool down. She was just glad that Luz was behind her and not able to see her face, the human would have laughed at how panicked she was getting only because someone invaded her personal space like this.

“So-Sorry! It surprised me!” Justified directly Luz, trying to put some space between them and let go of the witch, but the steady rhythm of the horse trotting forced her to keep her hold on her. Amity just huffed, letting her do it, and trying to stop this weird feeling creep her out. She only managed to relax after a couple of minutes, despite the pink still dusting her cheeks. But it was certainly due to the cold, nothing else.

Thanks to the Titan, the ride wasn’t that long and they soon reached the market place, leaving the unicorn tied to a post, Luz seemed to have less difficulties getting off the saddle than the other way. And it’s at this moment the human looked all around her with a big grin, analyzing the place, as a child who just entered into a candy store and had too many choices to know where to begin.

But Amity perfectly knew their destination, and she tried to grab the human's attention, while the girl stared at some passerby, gaping, amazed and at the same time freaked out at seeing how… diverse, the people in here were. While witches and humans were pretty alike, some people here looked nothing like humans, they all had different size, color skin, number of eyes and limbs, part insect or animals, horns and fangs, scales and fur.

“Do you know it’s rude to stare at people like that?” Reprimanded the witch, her eyes ticking at the lack of manners Luz was showing. Even if, in a way, she understood how unnerving it could be to discover a whole new Realm and why the human was so astounded by everything and everyone. She didn’t know a lot about humans or the Human Realm in general, but she expected it to be pretty different from here, that’s for sure.

Luz only shook her head, trying to regain some senses, and she quickly went to Amity’s side, following her when the witch started to walk toward a precise destination.

“So… where are we going? What do you need to do here?” Inquired the familiar, curious, her eyes scanning everything around her, unable to stop themselves on a precise point, the people, the shops, the houses, it was all so new and strange, and fascinating! Full of colors, and many eerie objects, most of them looking cursed one way or another. And the food on the stalls was all but something that would make her salivate, gory blob of flesh, chopped off arms and legs, and even tails and tentacles. Some of it still moved! Well… it was… fresh? At least.

“You’ll see.” Was Amity’s only answer, staying evasive about it, wanting to keep the surprise and it would have frustrated the human more than necessary if she wasn’t already mind blown by this place, focused on every unknown thing her eyes met. But fortunately for her, she soon had her response when the witch stopped in front of a stall, the huge banner at his front reading “A slice of life”. Multiple kinds of bladed weapons being presented, scattered everywhere. At this view, a huge smile made its way on Luz’s face when she finally understood, looking expectantly at her summoner, waiting for her to confirm if she was right or not.

“I think you deserve a reward for what you did Luz. You’ve been my familiar only for a week now, but you already perfectly fulfilled your duty by protecting me. Even if I do not condone that you put yourself in danger like that. But I guess that it would be for the best if you train your newfound capacity. So… you can choose whatever weapon you want here. As long you promise me to not hurt yourself dumbly, that’s it.” Announced the witch solemnly, presenting the stand to her familiar who had stars in her eyes, already hoping up and down impatiently. Yet it didn’t stop a huge, teasing, grin to lift the corner of Luz lips when she looked at her summoner who seemed a bit too sheepish.

“You know you could have said only “thank you” and I would have been happy. No need to be this serious about this hm?” Teased the human, making the green-haired witch blush even more, a frown making its way on her face, even more embarrassed.

“Just tell me if you don’t want your reward, we can leave right now if you want.” Retorted Amity, menacing, hands on her hips, trying to not let the harmless provocation get to her, yet her pink cheeks said otherwise.

“Oh no! No! It wasn’t what I meant! Just… uh. Thank you.” Spluttered Luz with a sheepish smile, panicked to have busted her chance to own a badass sword! She immediately relaxed when she saw the green-haired witch grin at her and stifle a discreet laugh behind her hand.

“I was joking. Go ahead.” She offered, letting the human rummage through the diverse bladed weapons. A large choice being presented to her, going from small daggers, to common swords, with diverse rapiers, sabers, axes and even halberds. Amity had to try to stay calm and serious when she saw Luz try to lift a large two hand sword, certainly made for a giant, the girl always trying to bite off more than she can chew. But hiding her giggle fit proved to be difficult. She couldn’t help but feel happy to see her familiar this ecstatic about something as simple as this, and Luz just seemed to have this effect on people, her only presence radiating of a joyous and relaxed atmosphere.

“Well, well, well. Isn’t it Lady Blight, here, at my shop? What a surprise. What can I do for you?" Suddenly called out a burly voice, the owner of the shop finally came out from the back of his small stand, currently oiling the blade of a sword with an old rag.

She was very well known in the city, being the youngest daughter of the Duke and Duchess of this place, it was a given. And even if most of the people here never met her in person, the only sight of her green hair, the same as her mother’s and siblings’ ones, gave it away. And while, her parents were never really appreciated, her siblings and she has been nice enough with their people to gain their trust. Even if the twins’ pranks drove some of them crazy in the past.

“I’m here to buy a blade for my familiar, over there. As a human, she needs something to be able to defend me and herself.” Explained the Blight’s heiress politely, no longer ashamed that her familiar was “only” a human, the girl having proved herself more than necessary for her. Even if said girl was making a fool of herself, having a long sword in her hands, and swishing it from left to right in a silly manner, far, far away from the prowess she did during the duel where her movements were flawless. Yet, the sword looked fine, a bright and spotless blade, certainly already sharpened, with a copper-colored hilt and a grip covered by a white fabric wrap around it. It was simple and not too huge for the human, making her able to manipulate it easily, but it wasn’t what Amity expected. She could have sworn that Luz would have gone for a much extravagant weapon, but the girl seemed to like this one. And who was she to judge.

“Oh well, I see. Then let me show you something.” The merchant said, stopping what he was doing, to search for something on the many chests he had behind him. Soon, he found what he was looking for, and he presented a long sword made of gold to the witch and her familiar. The cross guard and base of the blade were embedded with gemstones, and everything was so shiny, and looked pretty elegant. “It’s a sword made of gold and enchanted gemstones; a refined weapon perfect for the familiar of an aristocrat. It’s literally breathing power and wealth.” Explained the man, presenting the sword carefully to the Blight with a small smile.

It was, in fact, a beautiful weapon, and she was certain that if her parents were there, they would strongly suggest her to take it. After all, wealth and power were everything that made a Blight who they were. Still, she couldn’t help but grimace when she looked at the price tag, indicating 12.000 snails. Not that it was a lot for a Blight and she wouldn’t mind to spend this much for her familiar, money had never been a problem for her, but it was way more than she currently had in her purse.

“This sword is truly marvelous, but I fear that the price is a bit too high for me.” She politely refused, not even searching to bargain. She wasn’t that low. And she wasn’t as her father or mother, that would force the poor stallholder to give the item for free only because he lived on their land. 

“I thought you were like, crazy rich?” Intervened the human, curious, the previous sword still in her hands. It wasn’t like she really wanted the shiny sword, with all this gold and rubies. It wasn’t really her taste anyways. And coming from a middle-class family who never had a lot of money, she knew to not beg for this kind of thing. But she was just genuinely surprised to hear something like this coming from a noble.

“My family is, yes. But I already bought something really expensive a couple of days ago, I don’t want to bother my parents more.” Clarified Amity with a huff. She could have bothered her parents for this in reality. It’s what would result from it that she dreaded. They would ask her why she needed this much money with such a short notice, and they wouldn’t understand that she was spending so much only for a familiar. Familiars were only servants for them, they wouldn’t understand.

Luz just stood there, silent, for a few seconds. A couple of days? Something expensive? The dots connected suddenly as she remembered Viney saying that they had to use an expensive elixir after her duel with Boscha. So… Amity paid for it. She knew that, as a noble, she clearly was able to afford whatever she wanted. But it made her uneasy to know that the witch spent so much on her, and still was willing to offer her a weapon. It wasn’t because she was her familiar that she was entitled to this kind of attention. It didn’t feel right for her, feeling like she was taking advantage of Amity’s wealth and title. So, she just stood here, not knowing what to do, suddenly really disconcerted.

Seeing the girl stuck, Amity raised an eyebrow, before sighing, resolved. It seemed that Luz had made her choice, but was too shy to ask for it. Truly out of character from her, but this day was full of surprises it seemed. She gestured toward the sword inside her familiar hands to the merchant, before taking out her purse, letting a few golden snails fall from it on the counter.

“I’m taking this sword, and give me a nice sheath for it please.” She asked, waiting for the man to search for a leather sheath at the size of the sword in his chests. He seemed pretty displeased that he wasn’t able to sell the other sword, grumbling a bit, but other than this, he listened to his customer without further ado.

Once the sheath was in her hands, she didn’t wait to give it to Luz with a small smile, looking at the red cheeks of the girl, certainly embarrassed to get such a reward, even if she looked pretty excited at the mention before. But she didn’t really mind, if it was what made the other girl happy, she was glad to oblige. It was already difficult for her to get adapted to this place, so it was only normal for her to do whatever was possible to help her.

“Thank you, Amity…really. Thank you, a lot.” Murmured the human when they left the stand, the words holding way more meaning than only the gratefulness coming with the freshly paid blade. And she put her new sword in its sheath, squeezing it against her chest, as if it was the most important thing that someone gave her. And it might have been the case actually.

“You know Luz, money isn’t important when you’re born with a silver spoon in the mouth as me. If I had enough on me, I would have paid this golden sword for you if you wanted it. I don’t mind. What you did when you challenged Boscha for me, it's way more meaningful.” Confessed the witch, pink coming back on her cheek. She was usually too proud to show this side of her, and she never cared enough to try to cheer someone up. But she felt like she had to, and she wanted to. She wanted Luz to enjoy her reward without thinking about the snails she spends on it. It wasn’t relevant.

“No, I’m happy with this sword! And you know… Gold might be precious, but it actually sucks when someone uses it to forge a weapon, it’s heavy and way too soft for sword fighting. It means that the blade I have has a way better quality! I’m just not used to… this. That’s all.” Explained the human with a small smile, a hand rubbing the base of her neck.

“I’m glad then…” Admitted Amity, sharing the same smile.

This duel with Boscha really changed something between them. There were still those awkward moments between them, but at least now they seemed to be on better terms, understanding each other a bit more. And it was way more than enough for now.

_____________________________

The ride back to Hexside was a bit less eventful than the first one, Luz was a bit more accustomed to the steed trotting rhythm. But her arms were still around Amity’s waist, making the witch tense a bit due to the proximity. But it wasn’t as unnerving as the first time. Getting bit by bit used to the familiar presence in her personal space.

It’s when they both left the stable, ready to go back to their shared room, that Amity saw a familiar face. Straight black raven hair, a slender and tall figure, with a long and high-waisted dark dress. Her mentor. It had been a while since she had seen her. The woman was pretty busy due to her place as the head of the emperor coven. But even if her parents had chosen her themselves, Amity has always been pretty admirative and she was always happy to see the older witch. That’s why she tugged her familiar to follow her while she went to see the woman.

“Miss Clawthorne!” Called out Amity, making the woman turn toward her with a surprised expression, but when she saw her protegee, a warm smile made its way on her black lips. “It’s a pleasure to see you there.” She added politely once she was in front of her mentor. The human seemed a bit lost at her side.

“I already told you Amity, you can call me Lilith. I might be your mentor, but we don’t need to be on a last name basis. It makes me feel old.” Asked the older witch with a soft, composed voice, but with a slight trait of humor behind it. “I needed to be here for a mission from the emperor. But I was hoping to see you.” She admitted, putting one of her long hair strands behind her pointed ear.

“I’ll try to remember that Mi-… Lilith. Hm… Do you need something? Do my parents ask you for more lessons?” She inquired, curious, lacing her hands together in front of her. It wasn’t like she looked forward to those said lessons. Even if Lilith was way nicer than her parents, and pretty patient, it always had been hard for her to not be able to meet her expectations. Even if she always learned a lot about the magic theory with her. Lilith was a witch able to control nearly all kinds of magic, making it evident that she was at the head of the most powerful coven on the Boiling Isle and working for the emperor. So, it has always been an honor for her to learn so many things from her. But it would have been way better if she was actually able to do magic of course.

“Oh no. Your parents said nothing. I just heard that you finally had your Familiar. So, I wondered if you wanted to take some time to train with them. It might help with your… magic problem.” Offered Lilith, smiling a bit more when she saw hope start to shine in the golden eyes of her student.

“You really think that it would be able to change something?” Beamed the green-haired witch, unable to contain her excitement. Lilith knew a lot about magic, so if someone said that having a familiar would make her able to practice magic correctly, Lilith would certainly be the only one she would blindly trust.

“You’re a talented young lady Amity. I’m certain we will find a way to make you use magic, and having a familiar can be a huge help for you.” Praised the older woman warmly, making Amity feel all tingly inside. She wasn’t used to having someone put so much faith in her, and it meant a lot for her that her mentor, a talented witch, thought this. Yet, behind all of this, she still dreaded to disappoint her.

“Where are they? Are you satisfied with the creature you summoned?” Inquired Lilith, quirking slightly her head to the side with a polite, yet curious, smile.

“Oh… uhm. Luz is here. She’s my familiar. And I’m more than satisfied, she already proved herself greatly by winning a duel against a witch.” Responded the younger witch, pointing at the human at her side, making the other girl smile shyly.

“I’m Luz Noceda, the human and Amity’s familiar. It’s a pleasure to meet you Miss.” She presented herself, waving her right hand while her left hand was on the strap of the sword sheath she carried, showing off the runes engraved on her skin.

“A… human…? It’s… pretty unexpected. But I guess it would do…” Blurted out Lilith, her icy blue eyes widening suddenly at the surprise. Yet, she quickly recomposed herself, nodding at her protegee. “I have to go, Amity. But I will contact you soon enough to establish a new program for your training. It was a pleasure. Have a nice day.” Finally announced the older witch, before leaving the school ground without further ado, her brows furrowed, deep in thoughts.

The two girls, now alone, looked at each other, surprised by the sudden change of manners from the black-haired witch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

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	6. Different lands, new hopes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! 
> 
> Chapters are harder to get out on time with all this holidays planning and extra-work, but I do my best, I still love writing for all of you and working on this story! Also I have some Lumity Demon!AU planned, that I might start to write after the end of this fic. I'll leave some informations about it on my tumblr soon enough! Don't hesitate to come say hi and ask questions (either it's on the Familiar!AU or the Demon!AU) if you want to! 
> 
> This chapter was supposed to be way longer, but I decided to cut it in half and it seemed about right to end it here. And I added a few scene because this fic needed more of Eda presence. I love this old but foxy and a bit crazy witch. :D 
> 
> I hope you'll enjoy reading it! 
> 
> And I wish you great holidays and many good times with your friends and/or family <3 
> 
> Thanks again to JuliaCorvia and Ambenya for beta-reading this chapter!

After their encounter with Lilith and a generous meal, Luz lost no time before starting to train with her shiny new sword in the courtyard. Amity was watching over her from afar, not wanting to get hurt if the human messed up and lost control. Not that she didn’t trust Luz, but despite the couple of hours the girl spent training trying to activate the magic, her runes didn’t glow once, and she wasn’t gifted the talent she had when fighting Boscha.

The witch totally could understand the frustration that started to grow on the girl's face, she had been there too, way too much for her own good. Luz’s arms started to get tired, as every muscle in her back started to ache. The sun, high in the sky, was making her overheat, as if it was mocking her, sweat trickled on her forehead from her hairline and her jaw was clenched, but she continued, refusing to give up so soon. It had been so easy against Boscha! She would eventually get it if she continued.

Amity even gave her several bits of advice about how to let the magic concentrate and flow in her veins, how to not fight it and let this liquid fire bend to her will. Breathing techniques, postures, how to empty her mind and focus only on what she wanted to do. For someone who didn’t know how to use magic, Amity knew a lot about it and the human was floored by it. And the passion that the witch used when she explained the theory to her, it hurt her, a lot. It was easy to see that Amity was loving all of this, she was able to see this intense flicker in her golden eyes, and the way she talked about all of those exercises, totally zealous. It wasn’t fair that she wasn’t able to use her own magic… and despite the human’s desire to learn, the thoughts clouded her mind and the lump in her throat refused to leave.

She was ready to give up for today, her joints ached, blisters appeared on the palms of her hands and a dull pain took over the muscles in her nerd arms, but she suddenly saw Willow and Gus walking toward them, the younger boy excitedly waving at them. The instant she told them that she was training to be able to use her newly found familiar capacity, they decided to help too. Over the last few days, the two other witches quickly grew fond of the human and spent a lot of time with her, and even Amity when she decided to hang out with them. They were rapidly becoming what she could call friends, and she was more than happy about it.

That’s why, when they joined the training session, she was met with a renewed vigor. The duo of witches started to use their own magic to allow the familiar to fight against something. Willow made vines grow from the ground, forcing the human to navigate around it and dodge it. While Gus used his illusion magic to create a double of herself, with the same sword, the hologram charging toward her to attack.

Cornered, Luz knew she had to parry the attack from the hologram, she couldn’t escape due to the vines that blocked her way. Breathing in, remembering what Amity had said about magic, she started to feel the electricity prickling under her skin, and she allowed it to move toward her left-hand, the runes engraved on her skin glowing softly at this. A large smile took over her features and she felt her body take over, swiftly slicing the illusion in half, which disappeared, before taking care of the vines that met the same fate.

Yet, despite the satisfaction that took over, seeing that she was able, once again, to use magic, she started to feel dizzy. The loud thump of her heart, the unpleasant burning sensation in her veins, it was exactly how Amity described it to her, and she immediately knew that she reached her limit. If she pushed further, her body wouldn’t be able to take it. That’s why she immediately dropped her sword on the ground, making a hand sign to her friends to ask them to stop their attack, while she let herself sit down on the floor, heaving loudly, trying to regain her breath. The soft glow on her hand dissipated slowly.

Amity was the first one to get at her side, giving her a flask of fresh water, allowing her to cool down a bit. And when she met the witch's golden eyes, full of worries, watching over her, she couldn’t help the awful sensation in her stomach to come back. It was certain, the green-haired witch had been in this condition, and certainly even worse, before. Something told her that her poor summoner had been pushed to her limits more than once, and that’s why she was so worried about her. She knew how it felt. Despite this, she offered her a sweet smile, trying to reassure her.

“You did it, good job Luz.” Praised her summoner, relaxing visibly when she saw that her familiar didn’t pass out once again. And her praise was soon accompanied by Willow and Gus cheers.

“Yeah, I didn’t think it would work, but then, I was cornered, and I knew I had to attack if I wanted to get out the situation, and I felt this tiny spark, then I remembered what you told me, letting the magic flow and everything, and it worked again! Thank you so much!” Rattled the human excitedly, still breathless, but beaming nonetheless. She just wanted to throw her arms around the witch’s neck, but she remembered that Amity wasn’t at ease with displays of affection. And she was sweaty as hell. So, she just stayed there, staring happily at her.

A light pink flush colored Amity’s cheek, flattered that the human thought that her advice was helpful. It was nothing, she only repeated what they taught to young witches, Willow and Gus did way more than her. But she was still a bit happy about it. She felt useful.

“It seems that you can activate your capacity when you have to fight, or at least, have the desire to. It’s interesting. I guess you’ll have to train more with other witches then…” Explained the green-haired witch, deep in reflections.

She was cut short when she heard someone start to clap, coming toward them. And when she looked where the claps came from, she saw their head-teacher, beaming at them, revealing her golden fang.

“It was a great demonstration! I heard about what happened with Boscha last time, but it’s truly something else to see a human use magic with my own eyes.” Affirmed the older witch, hands on her hips, while she looked toward the duo of the summoner and her familiar. “Also, you are right Little Blight, I always say that magic is linked to emotions, and your familiar is the perfect example, it seems that you really listen during my lessons, it’s great.” She added, ruffling the green-hair of her student, making her blush shyly and quickly fixing her hair after.

“Of course, I listen to your lessons Miss.” Stated Amity, a bit offended that her head-teacher would doubt this. She was the most respectful and hardworking witch of this school!

“Hm… then maybe you should try to listen to my advice, don’t you think?” The teacher pointed-out, with a small smirk lifting the corner of her thin lips, an eyebrow crooked, as if she was expecting something more from the young witch in front of her.

Amity just stared at her, totally lost. She was always listening to her teachers and their advice, she worked hard, why would a professor tell her that? She knew that her mentor’s sister was a powerful witch too, even if she sometimes had doubts about her teaching methods, so if the head-teacher herself pointed out something like this, it must mean something right?

“What do you mean-“ She started, before being cut off by the older woman, a comforting hand laying on her shoulder in a weird motherly gesture, pretty surprising coming from the exuberant witch.

“That, kiddo, you have to understand it yourself.” She stated with a warm, but firm voice, making the young Blight shudder a bit. Before her sharp eyes laid on the human accompanying her student and they grew bigger, as if she remembered something. “Oh, that’s right, I wanted to talk to you. Luz, that’s right? Care to follow me?” Asked the older witch, presenting a hand to the human to help her to get up.

The human and the three other witches exchanged a look, Luz asking silently if it didn’t bother them that she followed the head-teacher, leaving the three of them alone after the practice. But they all nodded, encouraging her with a small smile. Despite the curious look they all arbored. It was certain they would try to get some answers later.

Luz silently followed the older witch, her stomach squirming, and her joints still aching after her training. She wondered what the head-teacher wanted to talk about, was it about what happened with Boscha? Was she in trouble? She bit her lips anxiously, fidgeting with the band of the sheath of her sword, still hanging on her shoulder. A laugh coming from the older woman surprising her and making her tense suddenly.

“Ok, I’m five feet ahead of you and I still can feel your nervousness in the air. Geez. Relax kiddo. It’s nothing serious. You’re not in trouble.” Declared Eda, rolling her eyes, even if the human couldn’t see it.

In all honesty, it didn’t help Luz to relax. It reminded her the countless times when a teacher asked her to follow them in their office to talk about her behavior. And despite the witch’s words, she couldn’t shake this feeling, especially when Eda opened a door and asked her to come inside the room.

It was a simple office, with a desk made of dark woods and two chairs around it. But the bookcases and the shelves were full of strange looking objects and several potions vials, making the room cramped and look like an antique dealer shop. Yet, the atmosphere was strangely cozy, and she couldn’t help but stare at the different trinkets. Until the teacher caught her attention again, asking her to sit down in front of her, while she was sitting, not on the desk chair, but on the desk itself.

“So, King told me that you want to follow the lessons we give here, at Hexside. Is that right?” She inquired, suddenly, extremely serious. Luz felt like the witch was reading her soul to know if she would be lying or not. A sheepish smile making its way on her face, trying to be polite.

“Mister King is right. I want to be able to learn more about the Boiling Isles and magic, since I’m going to live here now.” She affirmed, still tense under the attentive golden eyes, the witch nodding at her words.

“Alright, alright. It’s only fair. Even if I don’t understand why someone would want to put up with boring lessons and pointless busywork. But consider that you’re welcome to every class you want to attend to from now on.” Declared the head-teacher, grinning at the young familiar when she saw the beaming smile the girl offered to her. Her hands flapping against her thighs, unable to contain her excitement.

“Wo-wow! Thank you, Miss! I promise, I’ll be on my best behavior!” Exclaimed the human, her fist banging on the desk in front of her while she looked at the witch, starry eyed.

“Ugh. Please, don’t call me “Miss”, only teacher’s pets do that. Everybody calls me Eda.” Stated the head-teacher with a dismissive wave of her hand, her acidic yellow eyes hardening for a second when she stared at the human in front of her. “But I didn’t call you here only for that.” She added, suddenly becoming serious again. Which was both incredibly impressive and unnerving to see the woman able to switch between some goofy behavior and this stern attitude.

Luz quickly straightened her posture in the chair, looking at the older woman with curiosity, despite being slightly worried. While the witch let one of her hands go into the wild mane of white hair she sported, as if she was searching for something in it. And a few tense seconds after, she took out a slim, black rectangle, showing it at the human. Luz eyes bulging at the view, her breath being caught up in her throat.

Despite the truly horrific place that was the Boiling Isles, it seemed that good things always come in pairs. Even here.

It was her phone! The screen was cracked, and her phone case wasn’t on it anymore. But she was able to recognize the small device easily.

“We found this on the school grounds, and it’s clearly not something from this Realm. I had to make sure it wasn’t a weapon, and even if I wanted to try to resell this, I doubt that anybody would be interested in a chunk of black glass. So, I guess it’s yours.” Explained Eda, giving the strange looking human junk to the familiar.

“Oh, it’s a smartphone. Humans use this for long-distance communications instead of letters and crystal balls. And it stores information!” Clarified the human girl, taking it in her hands, trying to turn it on. But the screen stayed black and she grimaced. It wasn’t like she would have a use for this here, but it still annoyed her if the phone was busted. Her mamá spent a lot of money on it. On the other hand, it had already been one week that she was there, so the device could have run flat.

Suddenly, when she looked at the witch in front of her, who seemed pretty interested by all of this, a crazy idea came up in her head.

“Tell me Eda! I know witches can do elemental magic, do you know how to use electricity? Tiny lightning bolts? Humans use this energy to make things work, since we don’t have any magic.” She wondered, nearly buzzing with excitement. Even if her idea had many chances to not work correctly, and maybe bust her phone, she wanted to try. And she wasn’t against learning more about magic!

“Kiddo, it’s child’s play for a witch as powerful as me.” Bragged Eda with a wide smile, sticking out her chest. This woman lived to impress. Even if it was just a human girl. She was still proud of her magical prowess.

When Eda confirmed this to her, she immediately slammed the phone on the desk, getting up and looking expectantly at the witch, her eyes shining, energy buzzing in her. She didn’t expect much to be honest, even if it worked, she wouldn’t be able to contact anyone from the Earth. She doubted that the Boiling Isles had a human phone network after all. But she could have all her pictures, especially the ones with her mom, all the books she downloaded, and her music. It would be her last link with her Realm and she would be more than happy to have it. Just to help to cope a bit after being uprooted so violently. 

“Can you use your magic on it please? Just a tiny bit would be enough to make it work! Right here, look!” Pleaded Luz, joining her hands in front of her before pointing at the charge port on her phone.

The head-teacher was a bit lost, after all, she didn’t know a lot about human things, and even if the girl told her they used electricity as energy, she couldn’t really see how magic could help. But if it made the human happy, she could always try, it cost her nothing. She twirled her finger in front of the human object, and a tiny bolt went through it after the magic circle was completed, Luz being in awe, making the old witch chuckle a bit.

Impatient to see if it worked, Luz swiftly grabbed the device and tried to turn it on again, her eyes growing big when she saw the screen lightening, and a squeal left her mouth, while Eda just whistled, impressed to see that the girl managed to link magic with her human object.

Luz's heart was beating so fast while she waited a few seconds for the phone to get to the home screen. Looking at the green bar, indicating that the device was at 100% charge. Magic was awesome!

But suddenly, she felt the phone buzz in her hands, making her and Eda jump out of their skin, startled. The buzzing refused the end, and the human's heart stopped when she saw all the notifications on her phone, mainly being SMS and missed calls from her mom. And when she looked at the signal, she felt a shudder take over all her body. She had a signal… She had a signal!

“Ho-How?! How is it possible?! I shouldn’t be able to have signals from the human world here!” She burst suddenly, her hands shaking while she read the several messages from her mom, worrying because she wasn’t responding.

“Well. After all, all the myths the humans have is caused by a little of our world leaking into yours. I’m not surprised that things from your world are leaking into ours too.” Quietly explained the witch, as if it was common sense. A sweet smile came on her lips at seeing the girl this happy. But she quickly grew worried when she saw the human start to have tears in her eyes. “Uh… Are… are you okay kiddo?” She inquired, starting to panic. She wasn’t the best at taking care of crying people, no, worst, she literally sucked at it.

But Luz didn’t respond, she just threw her arms around the witch midriff, squeezing her with all the strength she could muster, tears wetting the red fabric of her dress, but a wide smile was still painted on her lips. Eda tensed a bit at this, not really understanding why the human was so emotional all of sudden, but she patted the girl's head in a stiff gesture, hoping it would be enough. The situation was somewhat awkward for her.

“Thank you. Thank you so much. Mucho gracias.” Muttered the human against Eda collarbone. Luz was tall, even if her grown spurt stopped a few years prior, but she usually was one of the tallest girls in her class, even now, she was way taller than Amity, Willow and Gus. But she was still a head shorter than Eda, which was pretty crazy. She sniffed a bit, and tried to dry her face with the palm of her hand, her eyes still shining with tears, but her smile didn’t waver, she was so grateful. It wasn’t a lot, it wasn’t like she could go back to the human world. But she was able to talk to her mom again, and it was more than enough.

“Well uhm… I’m glad it helped you then.” She replied with a small chuckle. Usually, she was annoyed by all those mushy things, but seeing the girl affected by something as simple as having a link to her own realm stirred up something in her and she was glad she was able to help her, one way or another.

Letting the human go, she watched the girl walk back to the dormitories, engrossed by the object in her hands and a small smile stretched her thin lips at this. All of this situation was more than interesting, really. Deep down, she knew that this strange and exuberant human girl and her link with her summoner might be exactly what the Blight needed. And she couldn’t wait to see how everything would pan out in the end.

_____________________________

Deep in thoughts, Luz struggled to find the perfect answer to give to her mom. Each text and each message left on her answering machine made her chest constrict. But just hearing her mom's voice brought back tears in her eyes. She was so happy. It had been just a week, that’s for sure, but that was the best gift possible when she thought she wouldn’t be able to talk to her again.

She was just… lost. How could she explain everything that happened to her? It wasn’t possible. All of those things, it still felt like a feverish dream to her. She couldn’t explain it. There were no words for it. She just wanted to pour her heart out, to write every single thing that happened since she saw this strange light blob at the bus station. And her writer spirit just begged her to write everything down, to set down on paper all this crazy world, just to make it a bit more real. She wanted, needed, to share this with someone she knew from the human world, someone that could be as amazed as her by this.

Yet, she wasn’t dumb, she perfectly knew that no sane person from the human Realm would believe her. Even her mom. Her mamá was the one who always told her that she was way too absorbed in her fantasy worlds, that she had to try to live in the real one, to talk to real people and make real friends. It hurts, really, that her own mother wasn’t able to understand her. But she knew she said it because she cared about her. Telling her now, that the worlds that her wild and crazy imagination came up with were real and that she was stuck in one of them… It wouldn’t do any good. And it wasn’t like she could  _ show  _ it to her, her camera was busted.

Was it even responsible to talk about the Boiling Isles to humans anyways? History proved many times that humans weren’t the best when it came to discovering new lands and populations… And even if she knew there was no way that would allow humans to come into this Realm, she wouldn’t risk it. She loved this place and the people in it.

No. Keeping this for herself was certainly for the best. She didn’t have to straight up lie, just… not to talk about tiny details, like, how all her friends were witches, that she nearly died twice already, or that she was a receptacle for magic. It was just details, really.

Pacing back and forth in the court, just in front of the dormitories, she anxiously bit her lower lip, wondering if she should call her mom or not. It was Sunday, in the middle of the day. Her mom was certainly at home, it was her day-off. She would answer, that’s for sure. And she wanted to talk to her mamá, like crazy. Breathing in deeply, she made up her mind and taped on the green button to call her mother.

It only rang two times before she answered. She didn’t have the time to freak out and hang up, the voice of her mom coming from her phone already.

_ “¿Mija? ¿Eres tu?” _

“Si, mamá. Lo siento. I should have called you sooner. I… lost the charger for my phone, and I just found a way to charge it back.” She explained quickly, trying to hide the tremor in her voice. Nearly choking on her own words due to how tight her throat was. She was so happy. But she refused to cry and alert her mother. After one week of radio silence, she should have been way too worried already.

_ “Eres tan olvidadiza Luz… I’m glad you’re fine, I was so worried. Do you like it there?” _

“I love it mamá. I wish you could be here to see it, it’s wonderful.” Sighed Luz wistfully. It was true, it might not be the University where her mom thought she was, but Hexside was still pretty awesome. She really wanted to share this with her mom, show her that magic was real! And even if the woman would certainly freak out a bit, because, let’s be honest, the Boiling Isles were creepy, she was certain she would be able to appreciate it as much as her! But it was just a dream, she didn’t even know if she would be able to go back to the Human Realm, so let her mom come here? It was another problem.

_ “That’s great! The class aren’t too hard? Did you make friends?” _

“Nah the classes are fine, it’s so interesting to learn all those things! And yes! I’m so happy, I met Willow and Gus, they are pretty neat, they even helped me with some  _ homework _ this morning. And Amity, my roommate, she’s the best, really. I thought she was just the usual snotty rich girl when I met her, but she’s so nice with me, I was a bit sick two days ago and she took care of me. I hope we can become friends.” She explained with a lot of enthusiasm, even if she had to restrain herself to not let something slip, giving the watered-down version to her mom. Yet, she was still pretty happy to be able to share all of this with her and she felt the huge weight on her shoulders start to recede.

“ _ I’m so happy to hear this mija! You have to introduce them to me some day. Especially this Amity, she seems to be a nice girl. I have to thank her for taking care of mi nena.” _

__

“Mom, I’m eighteen, I’m not your baby girl anymore.” Protested Luz, rolling her eyes even if she knew her mother couldn’t see it, it was perfectly readable in her voice. And despite this, a fond smile made its way on her lips. If only she was able to show her new friends to her mom, it would be awesome.

_ “You’ll always be mi nena, mija. But tell me, tell me, are any of your new friends cute?” _

“What?! Mamá! Seriously?” Blurted Luz, her checks growing warm due to the surprise at what her mom implied. It was true that Willow and Amity were  _ cute _ , Gus being a bit too young… But she never really thought about it since she arrived on the Boiling Isles. It wasn’t her Realm, and even if returning to her own Realm would be difficult, she still wanted to find a way. So, starting anything with someone here wouldn’t be the brightest idea. Plus, she was only a human, not like anyone would be interested anyways. Well, it wasn’t like she could let her mom know that.

_ “Wasn’t it you who told me that you wanted to meet some cute upperclassman? It would be about time if you introduced me to a boy or a girl.” _

“…” She didn’t really know what to say, her mom clearly teasing her. She was still glad that her mom always supported her since she came out as bisexual. But now wasn’t really the time, she didn’t even know how the people from the Boiling Isles view people attracted by the same gender as them or by both. It already sucked to be bullied on Earth because she refused to hide who she was, what if the same thing happened here? Or worse! Would they try to hex her or make her burn alive? She trusted her friends and if the occasion presented itself, she would tell them, but still. It wasn’t like it was relevant in any ways.

_ “Lo siento, lo siento mija. I’m just teasing you. Take your time with this. It’s important for you to meet the right person. I’m just glad that you found your place there.” _

“Yeah… me too. Is everything okay for you? The work isn’t too hard on you?” She asked, genuinely concerned. She still felt awful to leave her mom alone, being here or at the university would have been the same thing.

_ “Oh, don’t you worry. It’s the usual, you know. There are hard days and easy ones. Nothing new. You know the other day…” _

Luz smiled behind the phone, listening to her mother talk about how her week went after she left her at the bus station. Just listening to the woman's voice calmed and grounded her, washing away all her worries and guilt. Even if she was far away, in another Realm, at least she knew that her mom was okay, and she could just let herself enjoy her time here.

Letting herself get soothed by her mom's voice, responding to her from time to time, she didn’t notice the green-haired witch come up to her, curiosity painted all over her face, since it looked like the human was talking alone to her.

“Luz? What are you doing?” She asked, a bit concerned, even if she had to stifle a small chuckle when she saw the human girl suddenly jump out of her skin, surprised to get interrupted like that, thinking she was alone.

“Oh! Amity! It’s you! Uh. Nothing. I’m just talking to my mom.” Quickly explained Luz, knowing she would have to explain  _ how  _ she was able to talk to her mom, her mom from another Realm. From the other side of the line, she heard her mother asking her to talk to this “Amity” to thank her for taking care of her, and a small blush came back on her cheeks. Nope. It will not happen. “Oh uh. Maybe later mom, she’s busy right now. I’ll… I’ll call you soon. Te voy extrañar, te quiero mamá, adios.” She rapidly said before hanging up before her mom could insist. She had strictly no ideas how a conversation between her human mother and a witch, who still seemed lost and confused about the whole situation, could turn out.

She sighed deeply, relieved that she avoided any disaster or, at least, an incredibly awkward moment. But when she looked back at the witch before her, brows furrowed with incomprehension, she offered her a sheepish smile, showing her the little black device in her hand.

“Eda found my phone and it turns out that I can still communicate with people from the Human Realm with it. I couldn’t help myself, I had to call my mom. To let her know that I’m okay at least.” Clarified Luz, seeing the golden orbs of her summoner shine with amazement, while she swiftly sits beside her to look at the device in her hands.

“Wow. I didn’t know that humans found a way to communicate through Realms. How does it work?” She exclaimed in awe, still staring at the phone, certainly wondering how such a thing could work without magic.

“Eh. Well… the thing is, it’s not meant to work between Realms, it uses signals to work. Except it’s not magic. Eda said that some things can leak between Realms. So, I guess it’s one of them.” She continued, opening her screen to show the diverse logo to the witch, indicating there was, in fact, signal. And suddenly, realization dawned on her face. “Wait. If such things can travel naturally between Realm, it means there’s still a chance for me to find a way to go back in the Human world isn’t it?” She gasped, taken aback by the new.

Suddenly, at hearing this, the expression on Amity’s face darkened a bit. Sadness glossed over her eyes, and Luz gulped at this. It was a can full of worms that neither of them were truly ready to open. Even if Luz loved this place and grew fond of her summoner, she still had her mom back there, and she just couldn’t leave her. She wanted to go back home, one way or another, it may take months or years, but she couldn’t make herself decide to just give up and enjoy her new life as if nothing from her old one never existed. Damn! She loved her mom, and the woman spent half of her life, working hard to raise her correctly and make her happy, giving her all the love she could muster.

On the other hand, she knew the more time she spent here, at her summoner's side, making friends, learning more and more about magic, in the fantasy world she always dreamed of… the more difficult it would be to leave. It was the life she longed for, for so long now.

And she could understand how disappointed Amity could get. The witch knew she had another life back on Earth, of course, but it didn’t change the fact that they were supposed to be linked for life. Yet, the green-haired witch put up a brave face, offering her a reassuring smile. Even if her hands were balled on her skirt.

“That’s true, there might be other ways to get you back at the Human Realm Luz. And I’ll help you search for it. I promise.” Assured the witch, her expression softening a bit. And at this, the human's eyes went round with surprise, a warm feeling taking place in her chest. She was really moved to see how comprehensive Amity was despite everything. A warm smile took place on her face, while her left hand softly set down on Amity’s right one.

“I just can’t leave my mom alone like this… but… It doesn’t mean that I don’t like being here. This week spent here, it was one of the best of my life. Really. And I don’t know how much time it’ll take for me to find a way back to the Human Realm, but I promise I’ll stay by your side until then.” She offered, hoping it would cheer up her summoner a bit. She just wanted to wrap the other girl in a hug, to try to comfort her a bit, to make her understand how happy it made her that Amity understood the situation and wanted to help despite everything else. Just to thank her for everything she has done since Luz arrived here basically. Yet, she held back, knowing perfectly that the witch wasn’t at ease with physical affection.

Still, quite unexpectedly, she felt Amity lace their fingers together and relax visibly beside her, a long sigh leaving her lips. And she stayed like this for a few seconds, until a small smile lifted the corner of her lips and a giggle escaped from them.

“You know, usually witches do everlasting oaths for this kind of promise. The only problem is, if I try, it’ll certainly end up in an explosion. And I’d rather not try to find out.” She laughed sweetly, even if, if she was being honest, she was pretty tempted to try anyways. This promise was important. It meant a lot.

“I don’t need an everlasting oath for this Amity. It might be crazy to say this so soon, but I trust you.” Admitted Luz, her tone warm and gentle. Which made the pale girl suddenly blush, quickly looking away, embarrassed. She really wasn’t used to all of this attention. But even if she just wanted to stand up and quickly go back inside the sure place that was her room, she would be damned if she let go of this hand. Holding Luz's hand grounded her and put away this horrible fear to be left alone that grabbed her at the throat. It felt nice.

Luz’s smile grew bigger when she felt the hold on her hand tighten, and she let a pleasant silence install itself between them, not moving an inch, just enjoying each other's presence, basking into the mutual agreement and understanding and how good it felt. They both knew that it would be difficult, that it would be a difficult path to find a way for her to get home. But they had time, and nothing forbidding them to not enjoy these moments of calm.

“Oh. By the way. When I talked to my mom, I told her about you, and how you took care of me after my fight with Boscha. Well… I didn’t tell her about the magic or the fight or the fact that I was out for two whole days. And I prefer not to. But still. She wants to talk to you to thank you. And I know her, she will harass me until you accept. Sorry for that eh.” Admitted finally the human girl with a forced laugh, clearly embarrassed by putting Amity into this situation.

“What?” Blurted suddenly the witch, taken aback by this. She clearly wasn’t ready to talk to another human this soon. And a slight panic started to rise. She knew how to be polite and nice, and hold dialogues with older witches, with her mentor, with her professors, or even with her parents’ acquaintances. But she knew nothing about humans other than what Luz told her briefly.

“Oh don’t worry! I don’t think it’ll be long. And uh… we’ll talk about what she has to know and what she doesn’t need to know okay? Because I’m not exactly ready to tell her that I’m in another Realm where magic exists, she’ll think I’m crazy.” Declared Luz with a nervous chuckle and a slight grimace.

“…Alright then. I guess it would do, if you explain everything to me, I don’t want to mess this up.” Agreed quietly the witch, calming down a bit. She could do this for Luz after all. And seeing how wonderful her familiar is and how much the girl loved her mother, the woman who raised her should be nice too, right?

That’s when she saw something shine in Luz’s eyes, something between excitement and gratefulness and impatience. The girl quickly grabbed her human device once again, and the black glass lit up, revealing images who moved when the human put her finger on it, catching Amity’s attention.

“Okay Amity, let me tell you everything about the Human Realm!” Exclaimed Luz joyfully.

And they spent the rest of the day here, sitting on the stairs, while Luz showed her a lot of pictures from her Realm, pictures of places, people and things. She even shared moments of her life with her, showing her pictures of her mom and her and telling a lot of funny anecdotes that made them both laugh until their sides hurt. And even when the sun started to set down, slowly revealing the two colored moons, they were still here, hand in hand.

Spending time like this with Amity, sharing so much about her life and seeing the girl so hung up at every word she said, listening to her diverse information dumping and ranting with interest and reacting to all of it. Luz never felt happier, and she definitely knew that, whatever time she had left beside this witch, she would enjoy it as much as she could. Because she never felt so much at peace before than beside her precious friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My social medias :
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	7. This love is only a magic spell within.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew, it's been already a month since the last chapter? Time pass by so quickly! Sorry for the wait!  
> But to thank you all for your patience, here's the longest chapter of this fic (for now) 14K! I hope you'll like it :) 
> 
> Also, thank you so much for the 500kudos and nearly 8000 hits and all your lovely comments! It's thanks to all of you that I'm still so much inspired and have the motivation to continue writing for this story! You're amazing! 
> 
> By the way, don't hesitate to check the chapter 1, I added some art for the fic, as well as in this chapter! About this, I'm searching for digital artists to commission, able to do full colors art! Especially to draw Luz's duel against Boscha :) Don't hesitate to contact me if you know one! 
> 
> As always, thanks to my beta readers Ambenya and JuliaCorvia who worked a lot to edit this chapter! Go check their amazing lumity fics <3

Getting used to this Realm and her new life wasn’t as difficult as Luz expected it to be during the first week. Now that the guilt gripping her at her throat receded, time flew by pretty quickly. After all, she wasn’t feeling culpability over leaving her mother alone, without being able to give her any news now that she was able to call her occasionally. And the fear of not being able to see her again and go back to her own Realm was replaced by hope. That’s why she was finally able to enjoy each new day spent at Hexside, and at her friends’ sides, as much as she could.

Step by step, she started to make her own place in this new world. Attending at as many magic lessons as she could, she learned a lot of interesting things. And even if she couldn’t summon abominations or create illusions and many other magical things, she enjoyed each new information she learned about this world. She even stopped to count the all-nighter she pulled off with Amity to study as much as possible, trying to assimilate as fast as she could the knowledge that took years for other witches to learn. But both of the girls were passionate and loved magic, so they weren’t afraid of the challenge.

A routine quickly was established; waking up, going to class together, studying when classes were over, and each time they had free days, they trained together. Sometimes alongside Willow and Gus, and even Eda started to join them. But most of the time, it was with Lilith, she was Amity’s mentor after all. But those training sessions were the most painful to watch for the human.

The witch working for the Emperor never had the slightest regret over pushing her summoner over her limits, just telling her it was what it would take for her to be able to use magic. And Amity, be damned, was way too stubborn and proud to give up when her mentor expected way too much from her. And even if Lilith was never truly mean to the younger witch, always encouraging her and congratulating her for the slightest improvements, Luz quickly took a disliking toward the head of the emperor coven.

It was already frustrating that, despite the several training sessions she did with this powerful witch, it seemed to lead nowhere. It was only due to her lessons with Eda and her friends that she really learned to use her new found ability and how to fight alongside Amity, how to shield her and give her time to cast spells. And the straining sensation she felt each time she took her sword, ready to fight, became weaker with time. Working out her body to accept magic, instead of being able to use her ability for a few seconds, she was able to really fight for half an hour now. Most of the time Lilith was just… here to see the progress between each session, analyzing things and commenting on them.

The main problem was that the older witch tended to make each training session a competition between Luz and her summoner, as if she wanted them both to be rivals instead of friends. And while she always put Amity on a pedestal, saying that familiars were just tools to protect witches, and that was Luz’s role, on other hand, she had the worst habit to say that, for being a human, Luz made way more progress than her summoner. Which always made Amity feel awful, even if the green-haired witch tried to hide this from her.

Except Luz wasn’t stupid and she refused to fall for this blatant mind game. She didn’t know what Lilith's problem was, but what the older witch didn’t know was that, instead of growing them apart, it made them closer than ever. Amity, despite her admiration, always blustered that Luz wasn’t just a shield or a tool. While Luz was always there to talk back when Lilith started to compare them, not accepting how unfair the judgement was when her summoner worked way harder than her to be a better witch.

No, she clearly didn’t like Lilith. At all. It was a fact. While, on the other side, her younger sister, Eda, the head-teacher, was way more interesting and pretty cool. She always liked to hang-out with the silver-haired witch since she helped her with her phone. It was strange to spend time with a teacher outside her classes, but the extra-lessons, discussions full of gossip and life lessons, and even the stories about how she used to prank the principal Bump when she attended Hexside were fascinating. She even ran errands for her sometimes, allowing her to know more about Bonesborough.

Step by step, she learned to know who she could trust and who she couldn’t. And she slowly made her place, here, at Hexside.

Being the only human around, as well as being a familiar, made people talk a lot. Not to mention saving Willow’s familiar and standing up against Boscha. Talking about the cuegle, since she won this duel against her, they haven’t heard of her. The pink-haired witch no longer made nasty remarks to them during classes, and except for some glares when they came across her in the corridors, she hadn’t tried anything else. And it was for the better. Even the other students quickly figured out that the bully didn’t dare to mess with the human again. That’s why, pretty often, when Boscha annoyed another poor underclassman, they went to Luz in hope to escape from the bullying. Even if, in the first place, she did this to protect her summoner, she was happy that people trusted her, even if she was only a human in a world full of way stronger things than her.

On the same line. It wasn’t unusual that other students came to her to ask her about familiars related problems. Since she was a familiar herself, people tend to think she had a link with the other creatures or something like that. It wasn’t true at all, but she still did her best to help them. And in reality, since she loved Beast Keeping lessons, and that most of the familiars had common traits with the animals from her Realm, it wasn’t that hard to find what the problem was. And each time she helped someone, it seemed like the words spread like a wildfire and even more witches came to her to ask for help.

And here she was, helping another witch with her tiny lizard like familiar. It was another girl from her class specialized in plant magic, pretty tall and thin with light green hair. She saw her often alongside Boscha, but it seemed that the girl, named Amelia if she remembered correctly, preferred to ignore the kind of rivalry between Luz and her friend for the sake of her companion. 

It wasn’t that difficult to guess why the black lizard refused to move and flinched when someone tried to touch him, even his summoner. The creature was covered by leaves, taking the form of a mane and wings, and some of the green leaves started to have the tips turning brown. While Luz wasn’t a plant specialist, she knew it was a sign that it lacked moisture. The little animal just needed some trimming on the affected leaves and being sprayed with water. It just seemed weird to her that a plant specialized witch didn’t think about this since her familiar was a plant related creature. But the most important thing was that the familiar seemed fine again! The little reptilian landed swiftly on her shoulder, making happy noises while he rubbed his head against her cheek, while his summoner started to search for something in her bag.

Soon after, Amelia gave her a small bag filled with what looked like muffins covered by red berries taking the form of tiny eyes. It made the human shiver discreetly; she still wasn’t used at how strange some food on the Boiling Isles was. Yet she forced herself to smile politely, while the witch explained to her that it was muffins she baked herself with eyeberries she took from a demonic shrub in the school’s greenhouse.

It was a nice gesture, really, but Luz still remembered that time when she tried to eat some demon related food, having totally forgotten Viney’s warning about not having a second stomach to digest demon’s toxins. She had been pretty sick, nearly as much as when she ate dairy, being lactose intolerant and everything. She wasn’t dumb enough to try the experience a second time. Still, she didn’t have the heart to refuse such a gift. At least her friends could always enjoy it at her place. That’s why she thanked the plant witch warmly and let the familiar go back with her, before jogging back to the dorms. It had started to get late after all, Amelia asked her help after the dinner, so, now, the two moons were already high in the sky. It was time for her studying session with Amity. She was even a bit late, but she hopped that her summoner wouldn’t be too angry at her, especially if she came back with muffins!

In the hurry, the human didn’t notice that the witch she just helped was quickly joined by a second one. A long smirk painted on the face of the pink-haired girl newly arrived, her three eyes squinting slightly in a satisfied expression while she patted Amelia’s shoulder. Yet, despite the fact she was congratulated, the plant witch looked at the ground, guilt taking over her features.

_____________________________

“What? You started without me?!” Exclaimed Luz when she opened the heavy wooden door leading to her shared room with Amity, seeing her summoner already nose deep inside books.

“You’re late, I had nothing else to do anyways. But I’ve read a really interesting theory about Oracle magic, do you want to see?” The witch asked, presenting the book to her familiar who eagerly took it, curious about what Amity had found.

Yet she quickly remembered the bag full of muffins she had in her other hand, and she handed it to her summoner with a bright smile.

“I was late because I helped someone with their familiar! She gave this to me. It’s eyeberries muffins, but I can’t eat it, so you can have some if you want!” She offered, letting the green-haired witch take out one of the muffins, Luz wondering if it was as good as it looked, even if the ten or so tiny red eyes covering it, with pinhead pupils, still blinking, were pretty distasteful, the rest looked strangely good.

“Eyeberries? It’s one of my favorites! Thank you, Luz. And it’s great you helped someone else, I’m glad.” Replied the young witch with a sweet smile, letting Luz take place next to her, putting the muffin aside to eat it during their studying session.

Amity quickly explained what she had read about the Oracle magic, and how some predictions from powerful witches were never fully understood. Most of them were talking about the lost magic, or the “twelfth magic”, but nobody knew if it really existed or what it was. Some witches said only the most powerful witches, able to use all of the eleven types of magics, were able to use it. While many others believed that only ancient wild witches could employ this kind of magic. But at this point, it was believed to be only a legend.

Luz was fascinated by this, and couldn’t help but wonder what this type of magic would do, sharing multiple hypotheses with her summoner, but Amity often corrected her, telling her that it was already linked to an existing magic. Dark arts? It depended on how someone would use common magic. Necromancy? It was a part of the common magic and potion track that was banned a long time ago. Light and shadows magic? Elemental magic users were able to use it. And it continued, again and again.

They had a Magic History presentation to do, and decided to work on this, even if they didn’t have a final answer, it was interesting enough and many Oracle predictions existed about it they could work with. So, while they both started research about it, brainstorming ideas, Amity started to eat one of the muffins out of self-indulgence, since they had a pretty large dinner. Luz couldn’t help but look at her, while she chewed the bottom half of the bakery, lost in her thought. And she couldn’t help but laugh at herself, sharing her thoughts with her summoner.

"Does a spell which allows me to have a second stomach like witches exist? I mean, okay most of the demonic food stuff doesn't seem pretty tasty, to a human at least, you guys must be used to it. But damn, a girl is curious!" Luz wondered, not really sure if she would accept to try this spell on herself if it really existed, but at the same time, dying to find out.

“I don’t thi-“ Started off Amity with a chuckle, finally finishing to chew on the muffin bite she took, but when her eyes landed on Luz, she suddenly stopped whatever she was saying, staying silent, staring with an empty gaze at the human. 

Surprised by such a sudden change in the witch attitude, she looked back at her, quizzed, a nervous laugh making its way through her lips.

“Ok, I know. It was weird. But you don’t have to look at me like that you know?” She faltered with a forced smile, but the look the witch sent her didn’t change one bit, she didn’t even reply. “Do I have something on my face…?” Hesitated the human, rubbing her face, but finding nothing on it. Still no response. “Hey… are you okay?” She finally called out, seeing something shining in the golden eyes of her friend.

She tentatively reached out to delicately grab Amity’s arm, and when the tips of her fingers met the soft fabric of her white blouse, she saw the witch jump due to the surprise, snapping from whatever happened. Her pale cheeks were crazy red now, and she couldn’t tear her eyes away from Luz’s face, making the human a bit uncomfortable.

Yet Luz started to really get concerned for her friend's well-being, her face still looked pretty red and she seemed out of it. Furrowing her brows, she gently placed her palm against Amity’s forehead, but it wasn’t hot as she expected when she saw the red cheeks of her friend.

“Do you feel sick? I don’t know if witches can get sick or if it’s like when humans get sick. But you don’t seem to feel well! Do you need something?” Luz started to ramble, concern taking over everything else, frustrated and not knowing what to do. Dang, it’s been months since she was there, and she didn’t think to ask once if there was disease on the Boiling Isles that could affect witches!

But Amity just shook her head from left to right, a warm smile growing on her lips while she took Luz’s wrist in her hands, slowly moving her hand to her face, enough to be able to cradle her cheek inside her palm, under Luz's puzzled eyes, not really understanding what the witch was doing.

“I’m more than okay now Luz… I just felt lonely when you weren’t there…” Admitted the witch in a deep sigh, still refusing to break her eye contact with Luz, her eyes continuing to shine with a strange sheen. Yet, despite the unnerving focus she had on her familiar, she seemed lost, empty headed, which made Luz's worries grow even more.

“Well… I’m here now…” She tried to reassure Amity, forcing a smile on the corner of her lips. Even if she was… flattered that the witch cared for her like that, it just didn’t feel right. Amity was never this open and at ease at sharing this kind of thing, she was always pretty reserved, hating to show any kind of feelings or weakness. It was just strange, and if her friend was sick, she refused to take advantage of this.

But her summoner left her no choice, the girl deciding to suddenly jump into her arms, forcing the human to put her arms around her to prevent her from falling. And at this Amity decided it was the perfect occasion to nestle her face into the crook of her familiar's neck, making Luz tense suddenly. Not that she didn’t liked the show of affection, she always had been an affectionate and tactile kind of gal, but it wasn’t so in Amity’s case, on the contrary, Luz learned pretty fast that the girl wasn’t at ease with physical affection and she always danced on eggshells around her due to this. That’s why it seemed so out of character for her and made Luz uneasy, not knowing how to react to this sudden change.

“You know Luz… when you’re not with me, I’m always afraid that you… that you would find a witch better than me. Someone nicer, that can use magic and really help you, that would be able to take care of you… and that you would get tired of me.” Quietly mumbled Amity against her neck, but despite the slurred words, Luz quickly understood how insecure her summoner was, and even if she had her idea about it for a while now, Amity never showed this part of her. It made her feel like she shouldn’t have heard this, but she couldn’t help herself, she wanted to reassure the other girl.

“Hey, that’s not-“ She started, but Amity suddenly interrupted her again, wrapping her arms around her midsection, squeezing her, nearly making her choke, taken aback by how much force the witch put in what was supposed to be a hug, as if she was afraid that she would go away.

“You’re so perfect Luz. When I summoned you, I wished for a divine, beautiful and powerful familiar and you’re all that. You’re so nice, you always protect me and support me, you even give me food! You’re everything that a girl could want!” She whispered in a sweet and warm voice, slightly straightening up to look at Luz again, her face still covered by a scarlet color, contrasting with her green disheveled hair. 

The human looked at her with big, round, eyes, surprised and disconcerted by this, a shy pink taking place on her own cheeks. Amity couldn’t mean it. The witch was sick and delirious, it was certain now. And she had to do something, she had to get help, before it became worse.

And it was about to get worse. She saw the witch face starting to get close to hers, her stare unlocking from her eyes to look a bit lower, innocently. And she was no fool. She might never have any significant relationship in the past, just a crush here and there, but she had read enough romance novels and wrote as many fanfictions on Azura and Hecate to know what this meant.

Okay, it was time to panic, because Amity would surely never try something like this. Something wasn’t normal. And deep down, she knew her summoner wouldn’t mess with her like this, Amity wasn’t like these bullies in her old school. She trusted her. That’s why she had to do something.

She rapidly backpedaled to try to put some distance between her and the witch, but it seemed that it wasn’t in Amity’s plan to let her go. So, she just ended up tripping on her own feet, making her fall harshly on her chair, while the small witch had a death grip on her.

Groaning, feeling her back sore due to the fall, she tried to sit correctly, and she was lucky that Amity wasn’t heavy at all, since actually she seemed to have no want to move from her spot, making the human sigh. She really had to do something for this problem. She wasn’t made for dealing with this kind of thing, her poor heart couldn’t take this fight. And she needed to know what was wrong with her friend, if it was some dangerous disease, she wouldn’t be able to forgive herself if something worse happened.

Her eyes landed on the crystal ball they used for their research on the Magic History presentation they had to do, and she knew she would be able to contact one of their friends like this. She didn’t have a Scroll, but she knew how to use the Crystal Ball, in the end it was a bit like a computer, but powered by magic. She was used to group chat with Willow and Gus on it anyways.

At this hour, it was certain that everyone was asleep, or ready to go to bed, but she prayed that her friends would answer the call. With a swift motion, she quickly called Willow and Gus, letting the crystal ball process and ring, which startled the green haired witch, still in her arms. 

After a long and unnerving minute, the crystal ball lighted up and let the sleepy face of Willow appear on the screen. She searched for a moment for her glasses, her hair usually tied in a braid hanging on her right shoulder were free of their bond, letting them long and wavy and a bit unkempt, proving that the witch just woke up. Luz deeply sighed, relieved.

“Luz? Why are you calling at this hour? We have classes tomorrow morning, you should sleep. Amity convinced you to do an all-nighter again?” Complained the plant witch still a bit groggy due to sleep, while trying to hide a yawn behind her hand.

“Willow! I have a problem. I think that Amity is sick.” Quickly explained the human, hoping that her friend would help her to resolve this soon.

“Doesn’t she have healing potions…? It usually helps with the usual sickness. Otherwise, you can still wait for tomorrow morning, let her have a good night of sleep, some rest and ask Viney.” Explained Willow, she seemed pressed to join her bed again, but even through the crystal ball, Luz still could hear some worries in her voice. She just told her to do what the common sense would ask.

“Luz… I bare my feelings for you, and… and you… you call another girl?! Why are you doing this?” Amity suddenly interrupted, her voice wavering with sadness, making Luz suddenly tense. Until Amity decided to intertwine her arm around her familiar's neck, finally letting Willow see her through the crystal ball. Well. For a short time, since the green haired witch put way too much force in her embrace, the chair swinged under her and Luz and finally made them fall on the ground. The human letting a surprised cry resonate in the room.

It’s when Gus decided to join the conversation too. But contrary to Willow, he had dark rings under his eyes, dried ink still on his cheek. He was the one who seemed to pull an actual all-nighter. But he was totally lost when he saw Willow's shocked expression and nobody in front of the crystal ball on Luz and Amity side, just pained groans making its way to their ears.

“Uh… what happened?” Asked the boy, scratching his neck, hoping that Willow, or someone, would respond.

“Alright… I think we have a problem.” Stated Willow worriedly, chewing on her lower lip.

“I told you!” Replied Luz with a muffled voice, still outside the view of the crystal ball.

“Alright, I’m coming. Gus, can you join us at Amity’s room too? We might need your help.” Declared the plant witch, determination in her voice, no trace of sleep left in her after seeing this. And she didn’t lose any more time, she disconnected her own crystal ball, certainly already on her way.

“O-Okay. I’m going too.” Simply said Gus. He might be tired, but he quickly understood that there was no time to lose, even if he didn’t know why, the urgency was clear, and he was always here when his friends needed him. So, he did the same as Willow and left the conversation.

After this, Luz simply laid on the carpet, literally tackled by Amity who refused to move, crying against her collarbone and telling her that she felt as if she had betrayed her, asking, pleading, the human to only look at her and nobody else. But Luz stayed quiet, silently freaking out about what was happening, imagining the worst due to Willow’s reaction. They really had a problem… She hoped Amity would soon go back to normal, because the way she acted right now was more than perturbing.

Still, she tried to calm down the other girl, slowly standing up, helping the witch to get back on her feet. Drying the tears that were rolling on Amity’s cheeks, she nervously bit her lips. She knew that something wasn’t right, but it still pained her to see her friend like this. Amity was always fierce and too proud to show her fragile side, and usually, when the girl opened enough to let Luz see this part of her, Luz was kind of satisfied to see that the witch trusted her to let her be at her side during those moments. But right now, it just didn’t feel right, at all. She didn’t even fully understand why she was crying like this. Yet, at least, it seemed that Amity started to calm down a bit, and she finally sent her a small smile, her cheeks still red, but this time she didn’t know if it was due to the sickness or if it was because she just cried.

Fortunately, Willow and Gus didn’t take long before joining them in the room. The plant witch not even taking the precaution to knock, bursting in the room, sporting a worried look on her face when she looked erratically in the room to see if her friends were inside. Sighing, relieved to see that they were still here, she came closer, Gus following in her steps, still totally lost about why the girls asked him to join them here. Being a boy, he had no rights to be in the girl dormitories, and they clearly were breaking rules at being outside their respective rooms after the curfew.

Seeing the two new persons who arrived in her room, Amity quickly wrapped herself over her familiar. And despite their height difference, she was able to put her chin on Luz’s shoulders, glaring at Willow and Gus.

“What are they doing here?” She spatted with a pout on her face, pressing herself harder against the poor human who mouthed a “help me” toward their friends.

“I mean… yes. What are we doing here?” Asked Gus, totally oblivious about the scene happening in front of him. He knew that Amity and Luz were close, and even if usually the Blight wasn’t someone really affectionate, he wasn’t surprised either. But Willow was a bit more observant and knew Amity better, since they were in the same class since they started learning magic at Hexside. That’s why she took cautious steps towards the familiar and her summoner, worry still on her face.

“Alright… so… we can agree that Amity isn’t acting like herself, is that right?” She started, stopping herself right in her track when she saw the small witch in front of her baring her fangs at her. Something that Amity rarely did except if provoked, usually by Boscha, being a noble, it was badly seen if a lady like her did such an outrageous gesture after all. It just confirmed that something wasn’t right. And seeing how protective the green-haired witch was toward Luz, she had her idea.

“Yeah, she’s all clingy and emotional all of sudden… is she sick? Will she be alright?” Quickly explained Luz, really worrying for her friend's wellbeing, seeing that it was worsening with each minute.

“She’s not sick, at least, I don’t think so, even witch fever wouldn’t do this. Hm… What did she do before acting like this?” Willow questioned, trying to understand what really happened.

“Do you think someone pranked her with a spell?” Added Gus, doing his best to follow the plant witch’s train of thoughts. And it only made Luz become visibly paler, the familiar already feeling bad.

“Well… we had classes, and then dinner. I was with her the whole time and nothing out of normal happened. After dinner, I helped Amelia with a familiar problem, and I went back here to study with Amity and after a couple of hours she started to be kind of weird. Nothing else.” Resumed the human girl, trying to think about anything that could help her to come up with an explanation for her summoner strange attitude.

“Amelia you said…? She’s one of Boscha’s best friends… I know Boscha didn’t do anything for a while now, but don’t you think that it could be linked with Amity?” Concluded Gus, a pen and a notebook in hands, already scribbling down the information.

“I don’t think so? She was pretty nice, she even gave me-… Oh. Mierda!” Exclaimed Luz, finally piecing everything together. She looked at the greasy bag where the muffins were and paled even more, totally mortified that she had been tricked like this. They put something in those muffins, it was certain, Amity started to act strange just after she ate those. “She gave me eyeberries muffins she baked herself… and Amity ate some of it… what… what did they put into it…?” She confessed, her stomach starting to churn. Amity was like this and it was entirely her fault. She was way too gullible and had been tricked so easily. And now her summoner suffered the consequences.

“If it’s Boscha’s doing, I’m certain they used a potion… and a I have a few ideas.” Stated Willow, her eyes darkening behind her glasses while she was lost in her thoughts, searching for a way to be certain about what kind of potion the cuegle used against her friends.

The effects were clear, Amity was totally infatuated with the human, but it was either the doing of an inebriation potion, maybe a love philter, or… a truth serum, baring the feelings of the witch and making her act on it without any control. Willow had always been pretty observing, and everyone with at least one eye would be able to see that the arrival of Luz in Amity’s life changed something. The witch was used to being a loner, head always hanging low, burying herself in her books, looking always tired and suffering from the mockeries that made her miserable and angry, overcompensating with false self-confidence and haughtiness. But with Luz here? She had a new vigor, life had returned in the old empty eyes she usually sported, a gentle smile tugged at the corner of her lips, and she no longer avoided people, scared to end up hurt or to disappoint them. Maybe it would be wrong to say that the witch's feelings were more than friendly toward her familiar, but it was still a possibility, and they needed to know it if they wanted to find what kind of potion was used on her.

And it’s when the plant witch remembered about the gift she gave them a few months ago. L’éclair d’amour. She had thought nothing about it when she offered the bottles to the duo, it was just a pretty and rare flower she had grown herself, it was something nice to give, nothing more. But right now? It would be pretty useful.

“Luz, where’s the flower I gave to Amity when you saved my familiar? Did she keep it?” She wondered, looking around the room to see if she could see the bottle.

“Uh, yes, I think so. But why do you want this?” Responded the human, a bit lost. How could this flower help them? Does it have a hidden propriety that she wasn’t aware of? Yet, she trusted her friend, and while she knew it was wrong to search in Amity’s personal stuff, she was desperate enough to find a solution to help her that she didn’t think twice and she opened the drawer where she knew the witch kept a few of her important belongings. And the owner of this stuff was way too absorbed in trying to suffocate her with a crushing hug while glaring daggers at their friends to really pay attention to what her familiar was doing. Searching in the drawer, trying to not look too much into it, she quickly saw a soft blue glow and she grabbed the glass bottle. She was still mesmerized by how pretty the flower was, even if it hadn’t bloomed, her own being kept in a bag where she kept many of her stuff to avoid letting everything lie around the room.

Presenting the bottle to her friends, still a bit lost, she observed the reaction of her friends. Gus seemed fascinated by how beautiful the flower was, swiftly scribbling down new information about it, while Willow seemed pretty… taken aback.

Adjusting her glasses, Willow took the small glass bottle in her own hands, observing the flower inside. And when the surprise wore off, a soft smile took place on her lips for a few seconds. It wasn’t a truth serum, that was for sure, Amity was way too infatuated and clingy, the flower would have to be fully blown if it was the case. Still… the flower bud shyly started to let the blue glowing petals appear. Not enough to notice if someone wasn’t used to taking care of flowers and other plants. But it was still here. And it couldn’t be an effect of a love potion, even if it settled what kind of potion had been used. She cautiously placed the bottle on the dresser at her right, taking a serious face again.

“I think Boscha brewed a love philter and put it in the muffins. It must have been for you, to get back at you after losing the duel, but since Amity ate the muffin instead of you, it affected her.” Explained Willow, looking at the lovestruck witch still clinging to the human, her tan face crumpling under the realization.

“Uh… didn’t this kind of potion get banned a long time ago already?” Wondered Gus, stopping writing in his notebook for a moment to look at Willow, pretty distressed.

“Yes, it is. There was a girl who asked me to grow pink moonflowers to brew a love potion since she wasn’t able to find any, even in the night market. But that’s not what worries me the most… Boscha took months before giving it to Luz…” The plant witch started, gripping her cloak firmly in her hands while chewing nervously her lower lips.

“So, what does it mean…? Will it wear off soon?” Asked the human. She had read several books and saw a couple of movies and anime with love philters in it, but she didn’t know how this stuff really worked here, on the Boiling Isles, and seeing the expression on her friend's face, it didn’t seem to be a good sign.

“It really depends on how it was brewed and with what ingredient… Some can last just a couple of days, but others… can last for months, or years. And the more you wait, the worse the effects get, and the harder it is to brew the remedy….” She explained, cringing a bit at imagining what kind of effects and things the philter would push her friend to do if they didn’t do anything in the next few hours. “And Boscha is pretty talented in potions and… she took months to brew that. I fear the worst.” She finally added, worryingly looking at Amity, who still was oblivious at what was happening, losing herself in Luz’s arms.

“Years? Are you serious? We can’t leave her like this! We need to warn a teacher, they must have some potion to counter the effects!” Exclaimed the human, suddenly extremely nervous. Everything was already pretty awkward right now, even if she didn’t really mind the hugs. But thinking that it could get worse, and that it could last this long… it was really unsettling. Amity didn’t deserve this. Not being able to be herself, acting on false feelings, doing and saying things she might regret later because Luz wasn’t the one her heart chose. It was unfair. And it was all her fault, her fault and Boscha’s fault. The cuegle really needed to learn her lesson. She gritted her teeth, frustrated that she let this happen. But soon she met Amity’s concerned expression, the witch tracing soothing circles on her back, as if she was the one who needed to be taken care of.

“Luz… We can’t warn the teachers about this.” Declared Willow, a sour expression on her face, as she, herself, seemed to be in some internal conflict, searching for a solution.

“And why?! We need their help! And Boscha needs to face the consequences of what she did!” Insisted Luz, not understanding why competent witches wouldn’t be able to help them with this. Her frustration growing at each passing second at the urgency of the situation, her summoner, stuck to her, more and more clingy, reminding her how the time was counted.

“We are in the middle of the night. No teacher in their right mind would brew an antidote at this hour. They'll just leave her in the infirmary. And do you know how a person affected by a love philter gets if they get separated from the object of their affection? Believe me it’s not pretty. And we can't let anyone else know about this." Clarified the dark-haired witch, crossing her arms, trying to make the familiar understand the situation, knowing perfectly that Luz was kind of headstrong when she had an idea in mind. Yet, it wasn’t enough for her.

“I just have to stay with her at the infirmary until tomorrow morning, that’s all! That’s not the end of the world, I’m more than able to keep her at an arm length if the effects get worse.” Objected the human, already ready to leave the room to try to find a teacher, or even Viney, to help her, refusing to listen to her friends, way too worried. She wasn’t afraid if her summoner would try to be closer to her. She was tall and strong enough to stop the witch from doing anything she might regret later. And she was way too respectful and a good friend to take advantage of the situation, contrary to what some other people would have done in her place.

“That’s not the problem! The school has to report this to the authorities and to the family of the person who consumed the potion. Love philters are a serious matter here.” Maintained Willow, looking at Gus, nearly pleading him to back her up, since she knew it wouldn’t be easy to make Luz understand how everything could easily go downhill from there if they didn’t think it through.

“That's right. And you already know that her parents are the Duke and Duchess of Bonesborough. They aren't exactly... nice people. Imagine what they would do if they learn she fell in love with her familiar due to a love potion? They'll think you did it." Claimed the younger witch, putting himself in front of the door to force Luz to stay with them in the room to listen. But those simple words were enough to make the human stop dead in her tracks, her stomach dropping at the idea. She wasn’t afraid that people might think she did it, it wasn’t the truth, and she wasn’t rich or talented enough to be able to have a love philter in her possession. But something else bothered her, old and personal fears coming back to grip her at her throat.

“Oh... I see... I guess it would be badly seen if she's head over heels for another girl." She dropped suddenly, her tone flat, but her face was scrunched with a sour expression. If this was such a big deal for the Duke and Duchess that it would put her safety on the line, it was obvious that this kind of thing wasn’t really well accepted here and that she should shut up about her own orientation. Still, it confused her friends that she came with the conclusion.

"Uh? Why? That's not the problem. They're often marriages between nobles of the same gender. That’s just… sorry to say this so harshly but... you are a human without any rank Luz. As well as her familiar. And it’s pretty well known by everyone in Bonesborough that the Duke and Duchess treat their familiars badly, there’s a lot of chances that they don't think more of you than a pet to keep their daughter company." Cringed Willow, hating to share this information with Luz, since Amity seemed to have kept it under the rug until now. And she loathed the fact that people who thought that familiars were just animals or servants still existed. The human clearly didn’t deserve this, being way more than that.

"You’re lucky that Amity doesn’t think like her parents. But if they believe you gave this potion to her…They'll just try to execute you and force Amity to summon another familiar." Affirmed Gus, visibly quite shaken up at the mere idea of this scenario happening to his friends.

“That sounds really… bad. But we need to do something, and quick, we can’t leave Amity like that!” Insisted the familiar, tensing when she felt Amity start to gently rub her cheek against her arm, making her shiver at how awkward this was.

“We could brew our own antidote?” Suggested Willow, already making her way towards Amity’s bookcase, seemingly searching for a title in particular. “I know that last year we saw the recipe for an antidote to cure from emotions alternating potions like love or hate potions. The book must be here…” She continued, rummaging through the different books until she pulled out one in, victorious. “Ah! Found it!” She exclaimed, and Luz cheered at this, happy that they made progress.

“Ok, but… how are we going to find the ingredients?” Asked Gus, genuinely concerned, not really liking where things were going. Because he felt deep down in his guts that the girls were going to bring him into some other dangerous shenanigans and that he will not appreciate the answer to his question.

“The potion storeroom of course! I know that it’s past the curfew, but it will be harder to get to it unnoticed during daylight. Especially with her…” Affirmed the familiar, trying to gently push away her summoner who tried to get her attention, sad that Luz wasn’t looking at her.

“There’s still a problem though… Hooty.” Added the plant witch, even if she started to search inside the book the recipe that would help them with their problems. The name leaves Luz kind of confused.

“Hooty…?” She dared to ask, totally lost, not understanding what this has to do with them going to the potion storeroom at night.

“Oh, Hooty is kind of the security system of Hexside. And he watches out for students who don't respect the curfew or who go to forbidden places in the school. But he’s not a problem, really. He usually lets us do whatever we want, and if he decides to annoy us, I just have to cast an illusion who will talk with him.” Quickly explained Gus, not really afraid of the bird tube. Which made his friends look at him suspiciously, making him chuckle nervously. “What? It’s not like I break the curfew _ that _ often. Only when I have to.” He interjected when he noticed the disapproving glare the girls sent to him.

“Muy bien! That’s settled! Let’s go!” Declared the human, ready to save her summoner, more than determined, fist bumping into the air.

“Are you sure you don’t want to stay here while we brew the potion, Luz? I mean. It would be easier for you.” Asked Willow, a bit concerned while looking at Amity who glared at her once again, not happy that another witch dared to talk to her familiar.

“No. I created this mess, well, kind of, so I’ll help you guys with it!” Insisted Luz, making clear that she already made her decision and that she wouldn’t change her mind. And this time, her friends knew her well enough to understand that she wouldn’t back up this time, even if they gave her the best arguments in the world.

Nodding along, complying, Willow just opened the door for the trio, gesturing toward them to ask them to make their way to the potion’s storeroom.

Gus quickly looked in the corridors, on the lookout for any sounds that would alert them of the presence of someone else which could blow their cover. Making a whole show, hugging to the walls like a ninja, while the girls followed his lead. Luz was tempted to do the same as him, but Amity still followed her like a lovestruck puppy, hugging her arm while walking. And the girl under the philter effects  _ whined  _ when Luz tried to get her arm back, even if she was just next to her, inches apart. So, Luz came to the conclusion that she had to stay just beside her, letting the girl hug her all she wants, if she didn’t want them to be busted.

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Fortunately, they reached the potions storeroom without any problems, and it wasn’t even locked! Well it wasn’t like a lot of students took the chance to go there at night and endure the endless suffering of hearing Hooty talk if they got busted. At least, the owl tube was certainly way too focused on chasing spiders for a midnight snack at this hour, so they were lucky!

Getting to the work, they all worked swiftly and efficiently together, Gus searching through the shelves for the diverse ingredients, Willow reading the instructions to Luz who started to brew the potion, Amity showering her with compliments on her brewing techniques, even if the human knew there was nothing exceptional about it. By chance, usually this kind of antidote was way easier and faster to concoct than the potion itself, they just had to dump one of the remaining muffins into it and add several ingredients, even if some of them were tricky to prepare. They were making good progress actually and it was quite encouraging! And even if Amity was more and more clingy and asking for Luz's attention, or throwing fits of rage when Gus or Willow dared to look toward Luz, it was still bearable. But everything went to a halt suddenly.

“Uh oh.” Suddenly blurted the plant witch, her eyes scanning the page in front of her.

“What?” Asked Luz, not really paying attention, way too focused on her task. For roughly ten minutes now, she tried to grind a unicorn horn into powder, but this stuff was rock-like, so hard that it was really difficult to get anything from it. Fortunately for her, over the few months she stayed here, her weak nerd arms developed some muscles thanks to her countless hours of training with her sword.

“It’s mentioned that if we want the antidote to work against a hate philter, we need to add poison ivy to the mix, which is pretty easy to find, but if it’s an antidote for a love philter… we need to add a pink moonflower to it. And this stuff is rare.” Pointed out Willow, anxiously biting the nail of her thumbs while re-reading the page several times, to be certain of the information or to search for an alternative. “Gus… did you see it on the shelves?” She asked, looking at her friend with hope.

“Yeah, wait, I think I saw it!” The younger boy exclaimed, quickly rummaging through the shelves, and retrieving a small jute bag where “moonflowers” was embroidered on it, presenting it to the group with a proud smile. Yet, his expressions quickly shifted when he looked inside it and there were only white, dried flowers, only crumbs of pink being left behind, not enough to do anything.

“I guess Boscha had the same idea as us…” Grumbled the human, visibly frustrated and worried about the whole situation. They had everything they needed except this flower, and Willow said it before, these moonflowers were rare, not even available on the night market. And if they didn’t find this ingredient, they would have to warn a teacher and it would end sourly… And they couldn’t wait more, over the couple of hours they spent in the room, the effect of the potion started to get worse, Amity was quite a handful right now. Fighting with her every few minutes to prevent the small witch from attacking their friends because they talked to her familiar, or stopping Amity from trying to kiss her, or even trying to shush her when the witch half-shouted, half-slurred her undying love for Luz. And of course, each time, Luz had to try to calm her down when the girl felt rejected by her “true love”.

Even if the familiar swore that she would do anything to protect her summoner, her friend, she started to get tired of all of this. She wasn’t used to receiving so much attention from someone, and it just felt awful, knowing deep down that it was all a lie, guilt gripping at her throat since it was partly her fault that Amity was like this.

But if getting help, and putting her security on the line, meant that Amity would get better. She was ready to do it. She just couldn’t let her stay in this state, not being herself, acting on fake feelings, Amity didn’t deserve this.

“Alright… I’m going to get a teacher.” Decided Luz, straightening her pose, determined, making her two friend gasp and panic even more.

“Actually Luz… I know a place where we can get pink moonflowers… But… it’s in the forest…” Admitted the dark-haired witch, a slight shudder in her voice, but she couldn’t let her friend take this decision, the result would devastate their small group, especially Amity, and the human shouldn’t pay for Boscha’s acts like this.

Luz didn’t understand why her friend seemed so fearful about the information she just shared with her. It was just a flower and a forest, right? They could easily go there and take it, they made it this far without any problems after all!

“What are we waiting for then? We can’t let Amity stay like this any longer!” Declared the human, not thinking twice about this, once again not knowing where her harsh decision could lead her to.

“Luz… it’s the forest we’re talking about. And it’s still dark outside. It’s dangerous…” Gus warned her, hoping it would be enough to make the girl think more about this. He was torn between letting the human warn a teacher or letting her go inside the forest. Both were equally dangerous, and it wasn’t like they had a lot of other solutions.

“Well… I have my sword. It can’t be  _ that _ bad right? You don’t have to follow me. I just need to know where I can find the flower and I’ll come back with it to finish the antidote.” Insisted the human, already tugging Amity’s arm to prompt her to follow her. The witch clinging to her arm and murmuring to her sweet words of encouragement, telling her she was the best. But they got stopped by Willow putting a hand on Luz’s shoulder, making the green-haired witch hiss at her, but she ignored it, just backing off a bit.

“I’m coming with you, I can’t let you do this alone. Besides… you’re going to need a ride.” Affirmed the plant witch with a sweet smile, yet determination shone behind her glasses.

“You’re crazy. You’re all crazy! But count me in! I can’t let you guys have fun without me.” Blustered Gus, nervousness clear on his face even if he tried to put a show of bravado. He was definitely scared at the idea of going out of the school grounds, in a dangerous area, full of demons and other beasts, but he wasn’t a coward and he wasn’t going to let his friends do this alone. “Let’s just pray to the Titan that we don’t have any problems there…” he whispered to himself while he followed the three girls out of the storeroom.

_____________________________

Leaving the school grounds was as easy as going to the potion storeroom. Once Luz took her sword with her, Willow led them toward the familiar’s stalls, whistling, prompting her own familiar to step out from the stable. Greeting the huge dragon, and scratching her mane which looked like grass with flowers embedded in it, the plant magic prodigy cooed the beast, talking to the reptile in a warm voice, making the familiar chirp lowly.

Soon, the gigantic beast understood that her summoner needed a ride for her and her friends so she lay down in front of them, letting all the group climb on her back, just behind her wing junctions. Even if it was a real challenge to get Amity let go of Luz for two seconds to allow the human to climb correctly, before helping her. Gus, on his side, thanked the Titan for his growth spurts, because he didn’t have any problems getting on the beast back, knowing full well that a couple of years earlier he wouldn’t have had the same ease. Yet the dragon growled at him when he tucked a bit too hard the mane, Willow reprimanding him. But other than that, they didn’t have too much trouble.

Reaching the forest edge, they had to land, Willow’s dragon being unable to go farther, the forest being way too dense, the large diameter and heavy built body of the beast being unable to go through the thick trees.

A bit shaken up after flying so high on the reptile back, Luz was grateful to feel ground under her feet again. It wasn’t like she was afraid of the heights, but it had been quite the experience, being airborne like this for the first time. Her legs felt like jelly. And with Amity who let all her weight lie on her, it was even more difficult to walk correctly.

Finally, Willow decided to lead the way, explaining to her friends that she was used to wandering through the forest to study the plants she was able to find there, that’s why she was pretty familiar with the place and even in the dark, she was able to find the path leading to the flower they were searching for. Yet, they all stayed on their guard. There were a lot of demons and other kinds of beasts, especially during the night. Sentient trees, skin-eating faeries, blood thirsty unicorns, three headed wolves, or even a herd of centaurs who wouldn’t like that a group of teenagers entered on their turf. They were all very capable of witches accompanied by a magical sword fighter, yet, it wasn’t like they wanted to risk their lives. As soon they could get the flower and leave this forest, the better it would be.

So, as silently as possible, they made their way through the forest with a fast pace, well, until Amity decided to stop dead in her tracks, her eyes glued to something on the ground. Luz nearly tripped due to the slippery ground of the forest, and she didn’t have time to stop her summoner that the witch already unlocked her death grip on her arm and crouched to reach some brown flowers with a soft orange glow. Fortunately, Gus had awesome reflexes, and he quickly saw a giant carnivorous plant hovering over the green-haired witch, without a second thought, he drew a magic circle in the air and a blue magic rope illusion was tied around the flower beast mouth.

Luz watched in horror as the huge plant tried to get rid of the rope, but she decided that it wasn’t wise to stay here. So, she grabbed Amity and forced her to get back on her feet, quickly prompting the others to run, while the Blight was totally unaware of what happened and complained that she wanted to pick the pretty flowers to offer them to Luz. The girl rattled on about how it reminded her of her familiar's eyes during sunny days or things like that, making Willow stifle a laugh when they started to slow down a bit. This man-eating plant was known to use illusion magic to make the most appealing kind of flowers appear to someone, to prompt them to come closer to them to pick it up. Of course, the lovestruck witch had fallen into its trap.

Luckily there was more fear than hurt. Yet, neither of them, after this small adrenaline rush, noticed a shadow, lurking behind some trees, following them silently as they reached their goal.

It was a clearing where light casted by the two moons was able to reach the ground where green bushes full of pink flowers stood. A magnificent sight in all honesty. But it wasn’t like they had time to stay here and enjoy the view. That’s why Willow quickly grabbed some flowers, cutting them with gentleness and respect, before putting them in a small leather purse at her side, that she usually kept during her walks in the woods. Now they just had to leave and go back to Hexside to finish the potion. Easy, quick and efficient.

Well, it wasn’t in the plans of the shadow which stalked them.

Dark smoke started to swarm on the ground, but the group was so cheerful after finding the flowers that nobody really noticed it at first. At least until it formed a huge mass in front of them, a shapeless lump made of black opaque smoke, six thin legs going out of the body, giving it a small resemblance with a spider. The four teenagers stopped directly when they saw the abnormal thing in front of them, the smile present on their faces quickly fading with a look of surprise and fear replacing it. But the terror grew stronger when the thing started to tower them, its form slowly splitting to let appear a huge maw full of sharp teeth made of the same black substance. A loud blood-curdling roar left the nightmarish mouth, resonating in the forest and making all the other creatures quickly run away, sending shivers down the spines of the witches and the human.

However, they weren’t defenseless teens, lost in the woods. And Willow was quick to break out from her stupor. She was in her element in this forest, and she didn’t think twice before putting her hands in front of her, letting magic flow out of it, summoning huge roots and vines without any magic circles, the green color of her magic reflecting in her eyes. The vegetation started to surround the monster, in hope to stop it from moving toward them, and when they saw the huge cocoon of roots enclose around the beast, they let out a relieved sigh in unison.

Yet, smoke started to pour out the vines and roots and the beast reappeared, as if nothing happened, and even when a vine pierced through it, it stood in front of them, unaffected, but definitely angered as it huffed, ready to charge toward them. And that’s when the group knew that they needed to run away, and as fast as possible, but still, nobody moved.

“Run! It’s a Fear Bringer!” Shouted Willow, making everyone finally break from the intense fear that paralyzed them.

They all started to sprint for their lives, Gus and Willow being already far away in a few seconds, while Luz had difficulties forcing Amity to run with her. The witch was still dazed due to the love philter, and she clearly didn’t understand the danger of the situation. Each of her steps were wobbly, giving more importance to stay close to the human, than to walk or run correctly. But they didn’t have time for this, and even if Gus slowed down and threw several illusions at the monster, in hope to slow it down when he noticed that his friends were having difficulties to escape from it.

Yet, it barely did anything, and Luz knew she had to do something. She couldn’t leave Amity here, they had seen what Fear Bringers were capable of during Demons History lessons a couple weeks ago. Those monsters were known to creep into their victim’s mind, searching for their worst fear to take its form, frightening their victim, feeding on their terror until their heart gave out. She definitely couldn’t let Amity suffer from this monster. So, she had no other choice, she swiftly turned back toward the green-haired witch, and she put her arms around her shoulders and under her tights, lifting the girl in her arm. Amity was pretty light and she was happy that all her training sessions made her weak nerd arms grow stronger, because she had no difficulties to run like this with her in her arms.

It was even easier that her lovestruck summoner seemed pleased to be held like this, her arms going around her familiar's neck, nestling her face on her collarbone. In any other situation it would have made Luz feel ticklish, but she hadn’t really had the time for this, as Gus and Willow turned their head toward them, shouting encouragement at her to run faster, distancing the beast bit by bit. Its huge mass had difficulties to walk through the trees, forced to lose its shape to walk through it and form it back to regain its speed.

Still, it didn’t mean they were out of troubles. Sprinting like this with someone in her arms was quite tiring, despite the fact that Luz gained a lot of strength and stamina since she arrived on the Boiling Isles. They were in the dark, and the ground was slippery, yet she did her best to not lose her footing, focusing hard on each step, looking right before her, following her friends.

That’s when Amity decided that she had to cover Luz with compliments and affections. Telling her how strong she was to be able to hold her like this, that it felt great to be nestled in her arms, or even that she loved her lemony scent and Luz tried her best to ignore it for now. She hadn’t the time to deal with this when their life was on the line. Yet, it didn’t deter the witch to prove her affection to her “only one”, still totally blind to the situation, just feeling like she was floating on a cloud, surrounded by her familiar's warmth. A shiver suddenly made its way down the human's spine, but this time, it wasn’t due to fear. Amity was leaving lingering kisses on her neck, making her cheeks suddenly flush red, all her focus suddenly lost, totally taken aback by this.

“Amity, it’s totally not the time for this!” She grunted between clenched teeth and ragged breath, trying to keep her pace, the beast still hot on their heels.

She tried her hardest to ignore the witch, since Amity was totally deaf to her reprimand, but the kisses started to move higher, reaching her jaw and definitely not stopping their way toward her own lips. She felt her heart start to pound in her chest like crazy between the effort she was currently doing with her running and the flustering panic that started to rise. And she suddenly lost her footing, one of her feet getting tangled in a root on the ground that she hadn’t seen, her attention clearly somewhere else.

Everything went incredibly fast after this. She started to fall forward, just having the time to turn herself to make her back hit the ground, preventing Amity from getting hurt during the fall, cushioning her with her body. And when she opened her eyes, she saw it, the nightmare monster, charging toward them. But she refused to let the fear consume her, she had to do something! Anything! So, she pushed Amity away, unsheathing her sword, brandishing it in front of her, while her runes glowed under her wish to fight and protect her summoner.

But she knew that taking her sword to slice or pierce through the beast wouldn’t do anything, the only thing that could affect a Fear Bringer was light. That’s why they only appeared during the night. She suddenly felt a surge of magic washing over her body, and she tried to concentrate it, not wanting to let herself crumble under it and succumb to the horrendous demise that awaited them if she lost face.

The beast was coming closer, and closer, but she didn’t move, she didn’t run away, she didn’t cower. She let her instinct take over, her arms moving under the magic command, the power rushing through her body, as the first time it happened during her fight with Boscha. And without thinking, she plunged the blade of her sword into the ground in front of her, letting all the magic leave her body and concentrate into it in a powerful wave. A powerful light suddenly burst from it, illuminating the place in a white flash, forcing her to close her eyes.

Even with her eyes closed, she wasn’t afraid, she knew, deep down, that they were safe thanks to the light which engulfed them. She heard the monster let out a distressed roar, quickly followed by pained cries, until everything was silent and dark again, the burning light disappearing into nothing.

It was a strange moment, it felt as if everything slowed down suddenly, no sounds were reaching her ears, just the sound of her own heart beating, and the urgency, the adrenaline, parkouring her body left instantly. She felt light and at peace. As if the air that was full of suffocating mist was clear again. Slowly opening her eyes, her vision was a bit blurry, but she saw the blue glow of her runes fade away, making her sigh, relaxing directly after this, letting herself fall on the ground again. A dumb, proud, smile plastered on her face while she tried to breath correctly again.

Amity didn’t lose time before embracing her, putting her lips on her cheek, congratulating her, while she heard Willow and Gus footsteps come toward them, the duo helping the two girls to get back on their feet.

The human felt pretty light headed and totally worn out, like after a good training session with Eda. She didn’t know what exactly happened or how she did this, but the nightmare beast vanished thanks to the light, and she was glad for it. It’s only when she took back her sword, putting it in its sheath again, a soft yellow glow remaining on the blade as an old lightbulb you just turned off, that she saw the look that her friends sent to her.

“You… you did magic Luz…?” Asked Willow, totally taken aback. She knew that Luz had some capabilities gifted by her link with Amity, but even during the times when they trained together, she never saw this.

“It was a light spell, right? A powerful one.” Confirmed Gus, looking at the human girl in front of them, trying to understand how she was able to make such a prowess without any magic bill sack.

“I don’t know. Really. I just… did what felt right, I let the magic in me flow and do whatever it wanted.” Confessed the familiar, as lost as her friends about this. She stared at her left hand where her runes were engraved, amazed. She never felt so much magic in her body. With the months passing by, she learnt to feel it, dormant, slowly parkouring her veins. A soft static, always present, a reminder of her link with her summoner. An energy that she was able to bend to her will with enough concentration and the desire to use it, giving her a rush of energy, making her body feel as if it was as light as a feather, moving it swiftly and gracefully, with force behind all her movements. But it never left her body like this, giving her the sensation to be a cloud charging electricity and releasing it as thunder. Magic was amazing.

There was certainly an explanation to all of this, but right now, they had way more important problems to take care of. And she clearly wanted to get out of these woods before another unfortunate event happened to them.

Fortunately, they quickly rejoined Willow’s familiar, the dragon was still at the same spot, patiently waiting for the group, but even before they could let the relief wash over them, they saw a tall silhouette walk toward them. Suddenly tense and ready to fight again against whoever followed them, they soon dropped their fighting stance when they saw the lean figure of their head-teacher just three feet in front of them, a scowl embedded on her face.

“Did the four of you really think that Hooty wouldn’t warn me if four of my students went to my potions’ storeroom and then left the school grounds?” Chided the older witch, hands on her hips, glaring disapprovingly at her students. Even if seeing their teacher in her nightgown with bunny slippers was kind of hilarious, the younger witches and the human knew they were fucked and they could possibly get expelled for this, or even worse. “You ruined my beauty sleep kids.” She added with a small pout, her golden fang shining under the moons light, while her familiar, Owlbert, sitting on her shoulder, chirped, seeming as angry as her to be forced to be awake at such an insane hour.

“Loo-Look Eda… we didn’t do this for… uh… for fun. We had to. Amity, someone pranked her and gave her a love philter.” Luz tried to explain, hoping that Eda would understand enough to not punish them too harshly. After all, she knew that they were her “favorite brats”, Eda’s own words, of course.

The silver-haired teacher sighed deeply, searching for something in her wild mane that she called hair, and she got out a round potion vial from it, full of a pearly-white liquid that looked like the potion they brew just an hour ago.

“I knew that something like this happened. Leaving an unfinished antidote in the cauldron, with an empty moonflower sack next to it. It’s not really subtle. And of course, you had to go into the forest, during the night, alone, to search for this ingredient, right? You kids are really stupid.” She complained, playing with the bottle in her hand, pretty miffed by all of this.

“We had no other choices Miss Clawthorne! We know you have to report every love philter accident that happens in the school! And if Amity’s parents learned about this, Luz could have been in trouble…” Defended Gus, stepping in, refusing to let his friends suffer from the wrath of their teacher and the consequences of it.

“First of all, you must know that I will never snitch anything to the Emperor’s Coven, I hate those guys. So, you’re safe with me. Secondly, it’s true that Odalia and Alador are a pain, I don’t even want to think what they would try to do against the school if they learn that their youngest daughter had been the victim of a love philter while they put her under our care. And I think Bump will agree with me about keeping his mouth close about this little accident.” Declared Eda, with a small smile creeping on the corner of her thin lips.

“It means we won’t get expelled or punished for this?!” Exclaimed Luz, with a hopeful grin, her eyes shining thanks to the relief washing over her.

“I never said this. You broke a dozen of the school rules. But… we can get an arrangement.” Suggested the head-teacher, a long grin taking place on her face, while she drew a magic circle in the air, and the small leather purse on Willow’s side started floating toward her. She took the pink flowers inside it, and put three petals of it into the potion bottle in her hand, the liquid inside it slowly becoming pink colored, proving that the antidote was done.

“I keep the rest of the moonflowers, these things can be sold for a lot of snails at the night market, and you’re out of trouble, this little night escapade will remain between us. Alright?” She offered; a genuine and innocent light shining in her eyes, as if she hadn’t suggested such a scandalous deal to her students. Yet, the three of them nodded eagerly, Amity being still pretty out of it to really pay attention at what the teacher was saying. None of them cared about whatever illegal activity their head-teacher was up to if it meant that they won’t have any problems. And deep down, they knew that if Eda really wanted to punish them, she could have confiscated the flowers from them and punished them anyways. She just offered them an escape route.

“Alright, that’s settled then. Here we go.” Declared Eda, making the potion vial float to the lovestruck witch, still hugging her familiar, and she forced her to drink the antidote straight from the bottle, the green-haired witch being so surprised that she didn’t fought against it and when she finished the elixir, she coughed, falling back into her familiar's arms, everyone waiting for the potion to kick in.

“Hmm… Miss Clawthorne, can I ask you why you did nothing to stop us if you knew what happened? We could have died in this forest.” Finally asked Willow, bothered by the lack of supervision from their teacher.

“Oh, don’t be so dramatic Flower. I was just here in case you needed my help. I’m not that heartless. I’m just all for the life lessons learned on the field by yourself. And let’s be honest, nothing serious could have happened to you accompanied by the Left hand of the Titan.” Dismissed the older witch, throwing carelessly those words at them. Leaving them wondering why the older witch was a teacher, and not understanding her last words.

“The left hand of the Titan…?” Wondered the green-haired witch, slowly waking up from her dazed state, going back on her two feet while she tried to link together all the things that happened in the precedent hours and the first words she heard after the love philter effects died down.

“Seems like Little Blight is back among us. Great.” Pointed out Eda with a light chuckle, satisfied to see that her students were able to brew correctly the antidote. Her grin became wider, fully revealing her golden fang, while she just shrugged to the younger witch's question. “And I don’t know. Read a book. I’m not here to give you all the answers.” She added with a huff, turning her back to the group, while summoning a long staff where Owlbert sat.

“But Eda… you’re kinda our teacher, it’s your role to give us answers.” Insisted Luz, with her brows furrowed, feeling like this was some kind of important piece of information about her. After all, her runes were engraved on her left hand.

“I might be your teacher, but it’s no fun if I spoon-feed you everything like babies, and you always learn better when you do the work yourself on this. I hear my bed calling me. So, just go back to the school, without any accident this time please. Later kids.” She concluded, jumping on the flying staff, swiftly taking off without any other words, leaving the small group of teens pretty dumbfounded.

Without further ado, all the group being way too sleepy to try to think more about all of this, they decided to go back to Hexside to grab some shut eye after their insane adventure. They had the time to try to decipher what their teacher said later anyways. Right now, Amity was no longer affected by the love philter, and that was the most important thing. Even if the green-haired witch was pretty silent, deeply lost in her thoughts, during all the way toward the school.

_____________________________

Parting their ways once they arrived at the dormitories, Luz thanked her two friends and pulled them into a bear hug, before letting them go back to their rooms for a well-deserved rest. And now, she was alone with Amity, walking toward their shared bedroom, but the witch was still silent, looking toward the ground, her head held low. Looking behind her shoulder, the human chewed her lower lip, concerned, and started to slow down before stopping in the middle of the corridor, worried for her friend, wondering why the witch was so reserved now that she was freed from the potion effects.

“Hey, are you okay…?” She asked her softly, her voice warm and low, as if she was afraid that Amity would run away if she talked louder. She looked right at the shorter girl, but Amity seemed pretty determined to not look at her, pink still coloring her cheeks. While she searched for the human's attention for hours due to the love philter, now she tried to escape from it.

“I’m sorry…” She whispered, and if Luz didn’t pay attention, she wouldn’t have heard her. Yet, it broke her to see her summoner in this state, ears lowered in shame, trying to avoid any eye contact. As if she decided to build a wall between them once again.

“Do you remember what happened…?” Luz said, trying to understand why her friend was this withdrawn all of sudden. And Amity replied to her with a shy nod, turning her head in hope to hide her red cheeks and embarrassment. Pulling her cloak a bit more around her shoulders, as if it would help her to hide from Luz’s gaze.

Unfortunately for the witch, her familiar was having none of it and she refused to let her mope in her corner, bathing in shame. She tortured herself with the flashbacks of what happened a few hours ago, each word which left her mouth, each action, making her even more embarrassed, feeling like she tried to take advantage of her familiar, and she hated it. Even if she wasn’t the one controlling her body and her mind back then, she still felt responsible and ashamed. Suddenly, she felt Luz's arm around her shoulders, pulling her in a side hug and making her suddenly tense, totally not at ease with physical attention after what she did. Feeling like she didn’t deserve it, but the human insisted, searching her eyes to directly look at her. 

“Look Ami’, it wasn’t your fault ok? I’m the one who gave you the muffins, and it’s Boscha who put the love philter in it. I know it wasn’t you back then, you don’t have to be embarrassed. And nothing too bad happened anyways. You were just clingy, it could have been worse ahah.” The human tried to reassure her, letting out a small laugh and sharing with her a long smile.

This same damn smile, beaming at her, the same one she had when Luz saved them from the Fear Bringer, protecting her once again. The one that prompted her to kiss her cheek when she was under the love philter effects, because she loved this smile. And the mere thought of it made her panic, red rising on her cheeks once again, while a loud and nervous laugh left her lips, pushing Luz away from her.

“Ahah, yeah, you’re right. It’s not like a witch can truly fall in love with her familiar anyways. It would be weird.” She squeaked with a dry laugh, nervousness gripping her at her throat, refusing to look at her familiar once again, knowing perfectly it would worsen her state.

But if she dared to look at the human, she would have seen how quickly her long smile died, shifting to a stunned expression for a few seconds. And then, a blank face, empty eyes, lowering toward the ground while she stepped away from her, giving her more breathing room. The words echoed into Luz’s mind, her face crumbling into a sour expression while unwanted memories came back. And an awful feeling twisted her guts.  _ I can’t like you, you’re too weird. _ How many times has she heard these words again? Too many. She knew that Amity wasn’t like them, like the people who took joy in hurting and bullying her during high school. And it wasn’t like she waited for the witch to have feelings for her, she was just her friend and she was perfectly fine with that. Yet, the words stung badly.

Still, she put a brave face, because she knew that Amity didn’t mean it that way, she trusted her, it was just a poor choice of words. They were exhausted after the night they had, and their emotions were totally out of places. So, she just sighed, forcing a small laugh through her lips, plastering a fake smile again on her face.

“Yep. It would be weird.” She agreed, making the “p” pop stiffly. And the witch totally froze, while Luz forced herself to walk toward the door of their bedroom, deciding to enter without waiting for Amity. It was way too awkward and gut wrenching for her liking, and she had to clear her mind for a few seconds.

Taken aback by such a reaction, Amity stood there, alone, in the middle of the corridor, while she watched Luz leave her, without knowing what to think about all of this. The only thing she knew was that she felt something constricting her chest, and she hated this feeling.

She took a few minutes to calm down, to try to make this feeling that suffocated her go away. And she was able to move again, regaining her composure, she entered the bedroom, closing the door behind her softly.

But the room was still plunged into darkness, the only source of light being from the window, where the two moons shined, and a soft blue glow coming from something on her dresser at her right. Her heart stopped at this, recognizing the object that emanated this light.  _ L’éclair d’amour, _ did Luz see it? The human was on her makeshift bed, wrapped inside her blanket, back toward her. It didn’t look like it.

Biting her lower lip, she silently walked toward the bottle and softly grabbed it.

_ “It would be weird…”  _ She murmured to herself, repeating her own words.

She couldn’t help herself, her eyes refused to leave the small glass bottle in her hands, the soft blue glow coming from the flower reflecting on her skin. Her chest clenching when she saw the flower slowly start to bloom, what was a tiny bud now let its petals open shyly to reveal their beautiful azure color. Her eyes started to get wet at the realization of what it meant. It was a side effect of the love potion, the remaining of the curse, it has to be. It has to be. It couldn’t mean anything...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eheh, I'm not sorry for this end <3 Hope you don't hate me too much xD
> 
> Bottom art for chapter 7 by me. 
> 
> PS: I'm also searching for a digital artist to draw Luz using her light spell with her sword :) 
> 
> My social medias :
> 
> Tumblr : Faithcaelum_writing  
> Twitter : @Faithcaelum  
> Instagram : @Faithcael


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